Desire of a soldier
by Swirlingtorments
Summary: Edward and the Cullens have joined the Volturi. He is their best soldier. But what happens when Edward recives a present. How will he deal with meeting Bella for the first time as part of the Volturi? And how will Bella react to Edward being her master?
1. Chapter 1

Finally school was over

Finally school was over! I opened the door to the parking lot. The air outside was cold, and icy to my face. I heaved my backpack over my shoulder as I weaved my way in between cars to get to my truck.

I opened the door to my truck and threw my backpack to the passenger's seat, and hopped inside. I couldn't wait to get my heater running. The engine started and I immediately pushed the heat button.

I wonder what to make for dinner. Maybe spaghetti. Charlie liked spaghetti a lot. Or no, maybe some chicken. Or how about chicken and spaghetti. That sounds good. The good thing is that today is Friday, and I have no homework, I finished it a school. The bad thing is that I have no idea what I'm going to do over the weekend. Jessica and Mike were going out of town, of course. I didn't really have a fondness for Lauren. This was going to be a long weekend.

One thing I know I have to do is email my mom, I know I must have at least one message from her. She probably wants to know my whole life story in Forks. Well the message would take me a good while to write.

My truck pulled to a stop in front of my house, where I shut off the engine and grabbed my books to head inside. The cold hit my face hard; it practically knocked me off my feet. After being in my nice warm truck with the heater running, it was hard to get out and travel in the freezing cold.

I hurried to the front door, my keys jingling in my hand. Unlocking the door, I dashed inside, quickly shutting the door behind me to keep the cold out. I ran upstairs to my room and dumped my books and backpack on the floor.

I wonder if what I got from my mom. I switched on the computer, sitting down in excitement. My email had three new messages. I pulled up the first one which read..

"_Hello sweetie, you know who it is already. I just want to know how you're enjoying your time in Forks; I haven't heard from you or talked to you in what feels like forever. I'll be going out of town soon, but don't you worry; I will check everyday for your email. So email quickly!! Love you. Your mother."_

I love my mom! She's always so concerned about me, although I am for her too. The other two messages were from sales people trying to get me to enter some contest or send some money to win a free trip to anywhere I wanted to travel. Not interested! I clicked the delete button and closed the window down.

I would write her latter, better start dinner. Charlie would be starving when he got home, he always is. I hopped down stairs and sauntered into the kitchen. I first pulled out the all the different types of seasonings and then the chicken breast from the refrigerator.

My mom told me the best way to make a piece of chicken tender it to take a piece of saran wrap and cover the chicken with it, then beat the chicken a couple times to tenderize it. It worked pretty well.

I seasoned it then popped it into the frying pan, slapping a top of the pan to keep the grease down. Now to start the pasta. I reached under into the cabinets and grabbed a deep pot, filling it with water. I tuned the heat up and put the pot on the stove. Hmm, curly noodles or straight angle hair. Curly!

Just then I heard the front door close, today it seemed quitter then usual. Normally Charlie slammed the door. He didn't do it on purpose, but it always seemed to close hard when he came home. That's how I knew whenever he got home.

"Hey Charlie," I yelled from the kitchen, but I didn't hear an answer. "I'm in the kitchen making dinner if you're hungry." I expected to hear a resounding yes to this, but still heard nothing. Was I hearing things? I went the front door.

"Charlie?" Silence. There was no one. I didn't even see Charlie's coat where he usually hung it as soon as he came in the door. I must've imagined it. But I could have sworn I heard the front door close, as quiet as it was, I still heard it.

I looked at the lock, it was still locked. Maybe someone's in here, in the house, maybe..-no! Stop being paranoid Bella! How could anyone get through a locked door? No, it's not possible. I walked back to the kitchen, where the water was already boiling. I quickly grabbed the pasta package and dumped the whole bit it, stirring it in a circular motion.

That was really weird. And sort of scary at the same time. I put the spoon down, and lifted up the top on the chicken. The smell came swarming out as the steam engulfed my nose. I flipped it over to the other side.

"Hmm, that smells excellent." I jerked around in panic dropping the fork onto the floor, and spreading grease everywhere. On a chair at the table sat a man, I didn't recognize. My heart was hammering in my chest.

"Who are you?" My voice was shaking, and I could hear my water boiling over onto the stove making stinging noises. He was quite, just staring at me with a smile. "Who are you?! What are doing in my house?! Get out!"

"Now, now, that's no way to treat a guest."

"I don't know you!" His eyes were a deep black, as he eyed me up and down.

"Hmm, I wonder if Aro would notice the missing of one little human." Human, what was he talking about? And who was Aro? He stepped closer to me, licking his lips. I looked towards the front door for escape. "You can try, but you won't make it." He laughed.

"Who are you? What do you want? I don't have anything, please." He came closer.

"Demetri don't!" This was a different voice, a voice filled with authority.

"Aug! Oh come on Vincent. Aro won't notice one missing. Besides she's just an extra." Vincent? Who's Vincent? My head was spinning. And what did they mean extra? Extra for what?

"Of course he would!! Now take her and let's go."

"I want her."

"No!" The man Vincent growled. "If Aro gives her to you, then you can have her, but not before he inspects all of them. Now grab her and let's go!" He dashed out of the room so fast he looked invisible.

"Let's go beautiful." The man demetri whispered in my ear, wrapping his cold firm arms around my body, and darting from the kitchen.

"Wait! Please! Wait! No, I don't want to go! Please! Put me down!!

"Shut her Up!"

"No! Please, leave me alone!" I felt something hit the back of my head, and then darkness.

**Edward's Point of view:**

Aro wanted to see me for some reason, I don't know why; I already did everything he asked this morning. I knocked on the sturdy wooden door.

"Come in Edward." I opened the door. "Shut the door please." I shut it quietly, and took a seat across from his desk. He was working on some papers, skimming through them quickly, some of them sighing. Finally he looked up at me. "Hmm, have you eaten this morning?"

"Not yet."

"Edward, you know you one of my best soldiers. You and Alice of course." What did he want this time? "I'm not necessarily after anything in particular at the moment, but I feel some sort of regret, I guess you could say. I feel that I have gained much with you joining me, and yet I see nothing you have gained." He laughed, smiling to himself. "So," he clapped his hands together, "I have brought you a little present. I even took the liberty of wrapping it in a box for you. I thought it would amuse you for a little while, until you kill it of course."

"Kill it? It's alive?"

"A present from me to you." He repeated.

"What can I do with this, present?" His smile grew.

"You can do a lot with it. Play with it, eat it, and anything else that comes to your mind."

"Eat it?"

"Oh come, come Edward! Why don't you just go open it?! After all what's the point in wrapping a gift when the receiver already knows what it is?"

"Is that it then?"

"Yes, you may leave. And try not to look so gloomy Edward, I have a feeling you'll like this present. I had it delivered to your room."

"Like I liked the others you so graciously gave me?"

"This present is different, besides the others weren't exactly my idea."

"I don't care whose idea it was, a Ping-Pong table is not my idea of a present."

"Well as I said before, this present is different." I got up and walked out of his study, shutting the door behind me. What was this present? He assured me it was so much different from all the other meaningless gifts I had been previously given.

I quickly scurried to my room, and was there in an instant. I opened my door, and in the middle of my floor sat a big rectangular box, wrapped in thin silver wrapping. On the side of the box there was a small card tied on with blue ribbon. It read, "_Enjoy_. _From: Aro._"

I huffed. I hated surprises. Although I was glad this time I was in the privacy of my own room, I wouldn't have to fake enthusiasm for anyone when in reality I was just pissed off.

Suddenly the box moved. I could smell the invigorating smell of whatever was in the box. It moved again. The smell got stronger every moment that I stood near it.

I have never felt this way before. I was losing control of my senses. I felt like I was shouting into a rage! Like I needed to consume whatever it was that was in this box. I quickly tore at he thin paper, tearing the box to shreds, in my hast.

Each time the box moved the hunger and smell only got stronger, I no longer cared what the present was any more; my hunger was far too strong.

Finally when I tore the last shred of box off, I heard a scream as I lunged forward with nothing but hunger, and desire, but instead of piercing something soft I met with medal bars. To which there was now a big dent in the side.

I backed away again, ready to attack, but froze as my eyes met the eyes of my pray. It was she. Not only was it a she, but she was human! Her eyes were that of the color of chocolate brown, her burnet hair was lose around her shoulders, and she was barley dressed.

She had braced herself against the back of the cage, her eyes full of fear and terror of my next move. Her body was shaking out of her own control, and at the top of her forehead I could see beads of sweat beginning to form. She was stunning.

I baled my fists up, my body shaking in lust. I didn't want to kill her for some reason. If anyone else had been in that cage, I would have gladly ripped it and them apart. But I held a certain mercy for her. But the urge to tear her to shreds was too strong for me, so I did the only thing I could do.

I ran from the room as fast as I could, holding my breath. I would have to eat something before I went back to her, it was the only way I might be able to control myself.

**Back to Bella**

I sat on the hard metal bars of the cage, rubbing my head. It was throbbing with pain, like someone had hit me ten times. I looked around. I looked at the shreds of cardboard box that lay on the floor, and the thin wrapping paper. Where was I? What was going to happen to me?

I miss Charlie! I want to go home! I could feel the tears forming. I want my bed, I want my home, and I want my clothes! Oh wake up! Wake up Bella! I slapped myself many times. I leaned against the cage and closed my eyes, the tears spilling out.

The man was trying to eat me! Why didn't he? Why did he stop? I didn't even remember what he looked like, I was so scared, and I didn't even realize I was looking at someone's face. All I remembered was the paper being torn apart, the light shining through, and the crashing of something hard against the cage.

He snapped and growled at me. Thank goodness I was in a metal cage. He would have killed me in an instant. In fact considering the dent from the cage, there was no way this man was human. There was no way a man could charge through a metal cage.

I pulled my feet to my chest, folded my arms across my legs, and put my head in. Where was I? Why was I here? How could this happen to me?

The handle on the door rattled, then tuned slowly as the door was flung open. In the doorway stood the man, but a very young looking man. Not much older then me did he look. His eyes were the color of a deep gold, and his looks were devastatingly inhumanly beautiful. He stopped, as he quietly shut the door behind him. He made his way towards me. No stay over there! Was he going to charge again? I started to panic.

"Easy," he said, holding his hands up. He opened the cage door and reached in the direction of me. No! I moved to the back of the cage. He could still reach me if he wanted but he didn't.

"Leave me alone!" He chuckled, his voice holding amusement.

"Alright, you can stay in there if you wish." He closed the door and locked it back up. "I just thought you were a little cramped in there." He smirked as he took a seat on his bed. He lay across the bed, leaned up on one elbow, staring at me intensely.

I looked away several times, but he never moved an inch, he never stopped staring!

"Please stop." I whispered. This caught his attention, like he was pulled from some trance.

"Stop what?" I looked back at him, his eyes peering into mine.

"That! Stop staring at me!"

"Are you ordering me?" His voice sounded a little irritated. Something told me not to provoke him, he might eat me!

"N-no." I stammered out.

"Good, because if I though for a second that you were, I'd have to punish you." Punish me? His voice was calm, but it held truth. I started to cry again. Why was this happening to me? I hated this cage! I slammed my fists against the bars of the cage, crying in anger and sadness.

"Stop it." Once again his voice was calm, but full of authority. "Would you tell me your name?"

"No!" I screamed.

"No?"

"Go away!" I was beyond angry!

"What?" I could see his patients thinning.

"That's what I said!"

"Very well." His face looked angry but disappointed at the same time. "Since you won't talk to me," he pulled something out of his pocket, something I didn't recognize. He made his way over to me and opened my cage. I backed away, slapping his hand as hard as I could, but the hand never stopped coming.

He grabbed me and pulled me near him, wrapping something around my mouth, and snapping it on the back of my head. He let me go and closed the cage. "There," he said smiling. I lifted my hands to my mouth, and tried to ask what it was, but nothing came out.

"It a muzzle. If you won't talk to me, I see no need for you to talk at all." I glared at him. "Can I do that? Yes. Why? Because I own you. I guess you could say, you're my pet." He smirked at me. "And I'm going to call you Bella. Just because you look like one."

He reached in the cage and rubbed the back of my head, as if I were his dog. I pulled away from him to the other side.

"Just tell me when you want to talk again." He laughed at his own joke. "And I'll think about it." Where was I?


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the Delay.**

**Hey ****Cookiecrunch12**, I'll still thinking on the Bad Boy Edward. I do updates when I can, because of computer problems. Thanks for the reveiws. **Hello ****jessicaxorose****,** yes it was Edward who came back into the room and muzzled Bella. **Hello tigerlily3489**, You will meet Alice soon enough and you tell me if she's still herself. And **Hello ****rhapsody92788****,** thanks for the grammer checks.

He left the room, smirking to himself. I felt so hopeless, and alone. I missed Charlie, I missed my home. I was willing to bet that Charlie had the whole town looking for me. He must be so scared right now. And my mom would just be freaking out. How could this happen to me? Everything happed so quick, it all felt like a blur.

Why me? Why did they choose me? And who was this man? Or more like creature. I closed my eyes and curled into a small ball. I felt my warm tears slowly slid down my checks and dip between the bars on the cage. I leaned my head against the metal bars and took a deep breath.

Somehow I had to escape; I had to get back to Charlie. I had to leave this place, where ever and whatever this place was. I let my body take me to the only happy place that existed for me now. My dreams.

**Edward's point of view**

A human? He gave me a human! What was I supposed to do with her? She won't even listen to me. She's far too stubborn. She actually was bold enough to slap my hand! Like she could actually evade, or prevent me from doing what I wanted to with her. She didn't like the sound of punishment either. I smiled at this. She didn't like pain.

But then again, she was far too stubborn to hate punishment. She would always be punished as long as she was stubborn. She would have to learn to behave. I thought for a moment. I'm sure I could scare her to the point of submission. It wouldn't be hard, she's still just human.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was in my happy place. My small meadow. It wasn't as big as others that I had been to, but it did its job. It brought peace to me for a moment in my world of hell that I lived in. My hell was now enhanced with this new human. Bella. I wanted to hate her. I wanted to treat her like I had every other human. As food.

But she was so beautiful. So small, so venerable. And her eyes were amazing. They fascinated me above everything else, well besides her smell. They were the color of chocolate. I felt like I could find the whole meaning of life in those sad and terrified eyes.

When I first saw her, she was so scared. And then she got mad. I laughed to myself. In all truth, I hadn't even considered how she might feel. How she was feeling now.  
I shouldn't have expected her to accept my authority. She didn't even know who or what I was. All she knew was that I was a monster. She is a human. Humans never understand.

I huffed. I have to kill her. It's the easiest way, for both of us. She already hates me. And dare I tell her what I really am? Never. I could imagine the look of disgust on her face. And even my control was wavering. Her smell had burned through my whole body. At any moment I could snap, and it would only be painful for her. No, I had to end it now.

I would make her death a quick one. I could snap her neck in one quick move, she wouldn't even see it coming, or feel it. Which in the end would be best for her. I got up and headed back. I took the long way.

The whole time I spent trying to convince myself that this was the right thing to do. I couldn't even think about her face of fear or about how she would plea before I sent to her death. I just keep thinking about how quick I would do it, and that I would try to make it as painless as possible. I could not let my emotions get in the way. I have never had a weakness before, nor did I want one. She would definitely be a weakness to me. I opened the door to my room, softly.

I closed my eyes and inhaled the smell of her scent with joy, I invited the smell. I did not wish to look upon her face. I had already made my decision, to do away with her. She was like a banquet, and I had no problem in smelling the food before I consumed it. I turned and closed the door with a soft click. I turned around, my eyes still closed. I opened them slowly ready to charge. Ready to rip her flesh apart.

But instead I froze.

I remember reading the little princess books that amused so many children. When the princess was trapped somewhere in a high tower, or they were on their dying bed, they looked so peaceful. Like you almost wished you could join them in their deathly slumber. How I wished I could have. In my very room, in the middle, there slept a real sleeping beauty.

I could hear her soft breathing, going in and out of her mouth. I tried to imagine her not breathing. I couldn't. I tried to imagine her lifeless. I couldn't. Just with her sleeping form she broke down all my barriers that I'd spent so long trying to build against her.

She moved around a little. She looked uncomfortable. I gritted my teeth in anger. But in a way I was glad that my emotions were far stronger. Somehow I knew I had to kill her, but a part of me knew that in the end I would regret it. In defeat I went to my small bed and took my seat. I had never watched a human sleep. But it looked peaceful.

She simply took my breath away, in ways she couldn't even imagine. Hurting her was not even an option now. "Umm," she mumbled through the muzzle. At the sound of her voice, I froze again.

She looked sad. Some emotion in me, wished that I could make it go away. That I could take her pain away. I felt like a pervert. Staring at her with lust, powerless to look away, for fear that I might miss something. The worst part was that I couldn't read her mind. She was silent to me. Which only made her fascinate me more.

As I watched, I saw that she started to turn a lot in her sleep. Her heart rate quickened, and her breathing got louder. What was happening? Was this a normal human thing to do? Should I get a doctor? I calmed myself down. Wait, I told myself. I had remembered that I read somewhere in a book that humans often dream when they sleep. Was she having a bad dream?

Her arms flung around the cage, and hit some of the bars. Her legs kicked the edge of the cage. I should do something! But what? Wake her up? Yes I'll wake her up. But before I could get to her, she awoke with a sudden jolt, hitting her head on the side of the cage.

**Back to Bella**

Ouch! I put my hand to my head rubbing the injured spot. Good job Bella. I was dreaming of Charlie. I imagined him being ripped apart by the creature that had attacked me. And I was powerless to stop it. As they ripped him apart, I was being dragged far away by an unstoppable force. Try as I might, I couldn't break free from the grip.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and took in my surroundings.

My eyes landed on Him. The thing that had attacked me. I didn't have my voice, so I glared at him. He smirked, he seemed to be laughing inside. He sat there for a little while, just staring. Was that all he did, was stare? He got up, and walked over to me and crouched down on his legs, inches from me. "Greetings." I glared at him even more. Did he actually think that I would willingly talk to him? He was acting like we were friends.

"I think that, we should start over. Our other introduction was not what it should have been."

My eyes widen a little with surprise. His voice was so appealing and soft. It made me want to listen to every word. And his eyes, the color of caramel drops. They held me as they locked onto my eyes. He was like a magnet to me. My body wanted to let him in, but my mind kept me from doing so. It seemed that my mind was the only sane part of my body now. It reminded me of how much I wanted to leave. How much I wanted to go back to Charlie.

Granted he was absolutely gorgeous, and smelled amazing, but he took me away from Charlie. He took me away from everything. I turned away and scooted to the other side. I was not interested. Or at least try not to be. When I looked up, he was inches away again from my face. I looked back to where I had been sitting to see if I was the crazy one. I know I moved. How did he move so fast? Confusion etched across my face. He just smiled down at me. It was breathtaking! I swear, my heart skipped a beat.

"My name is Edward Cullen. You can call me Mr. Cullen, or Master Cullen. Whichever you prefer. But you are to never address me as Edward."

I shook my head no. There was no way I was calling him master! Who did he think he was?! He needed to be put into a mental institute! He was crazy! Good looking. But still insane!

"No? No what?" He looked down at me, confused for a moment. I just turned away. He took a deep breath. "I'm not very good at this whole human thing; you'll have to tell me what you're thinking."

He chuckled. "Perhaps this is the problem." I felt something loosen around my mouth, and then fall away. The muzzle fell through the bars below.

"Better?" No!

"Don't touch me!" I yelled. He smiled again, adding in his little laugh.

His face went serious, "I will touch you when I please." I banged my hands against the cage bars, wishing that I could hit his face. "I wish we could be over this tantrum stage that you're in. It really is immature."

"Then take me home."

"This is your new home. I would like to expand your new home. This cage doesn't look all that comfortable to me. But if you will not behave yourself, you give me no choice, other than to treat you like an animal."

"I don't belong to anyone," I screamed. He only smirked.

"My, you have quit a temper don't you? Aro didn't tell me how stubborn you would be." I closed my eyes in frustration. I didn't want to see him; I didn't want to talk to him either. "You know, closing your eyes doesn't make me disappear. I'm still here." I didn't say anything to this.

He grabbed my chin, tilting my head up to his eye level. His grip was ice cold. "Open your eyes, slave." I couldn't help it. My eyes jerked open at the sound of the last word he used to describe me. How dare he?!

I ripped my head from his grasp, "I'm not your slave!! How dare you call me that?! I demand you take me home now!"

"Or what? What will you do if I refuse?" I looked away, gripping the metal bars in my hands. There was nothing I could do. The cage was solidly locked. At my realizing this he whispered, in my ear, "Like I said, what can you do?" He came closer to my ear, his cold breath blowing into my ear. "Nothing. I own you. And you will do as you are told."

I stuttered out, "I don't belong to anyone. No matter how many times you say it, it will never be true."

"We'll shall see. I'm sure after a few days without your normal human necessities you will be more than willing to do anything I say."

"Don't count on it."

He smiled, "In time, anything I say you will submit to. I'm not worried, you're still human, and humans have needs that can not be overlooked. You will stay in that cage until you acknowledge your place. Until then, there will be no food, no water, no clothing, and certainly," he smiled, "no bathroom."

Ok, I could deal with no food and even no water for sometime. I could deal with the uncomfortable position for some time too. But no bathroom? That was bad.

"I thought you said you knew nothing of the needs of a human."

"I've done research before, I've just never took the time to see that information in action before. To tell the truth, you are the first human to stay alive past five seconds with me. Just say it. Acknowledge your place, and I will reward you."

"Reward me?" I said with distaste.

"As you should do with every good pet."

"Pet?!"

"Pet, slave, doesn't really matter how you say it. They both have masters, as you do."

"No. And my name is Bella"

He took a deep breath, as some of his anger began to fade. "Hmm. I guess I can wait. But remember, no bathroom. That one seemed to bother you most."

"I have no problem going on your carpet."

"Believe it or not, this cage come complete with a litter box. And if your comfortable going to the bathroom that way, have at it. But I seriously doubt that. I might have to put you outside though. Then you'd be in public and then-"

"Please leave me alone." He chuckled again.

"Yes, I will give sometime to think about your options. Oh and by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed talking with you. I hope we can do it again soon. Well without the disobedience."

I put my head on top of my curled up legs. I could feel the hopelessness of my situation. The cruelty that I had be subjected to by being ripped from Charlie. And now forced to become the slave of a creature I knew absolutely nothing about. I silently started to cry.

"I will let you out, if you conform to me. Just a few words and your out!" He let his fingers run through my tangled hair, and stopped to play with the little curls at the ends. "Crying doesn't suit you. It's too miserable to watch. You must understand, I want to let you out, I want to reward you, but I can't if you won't obey me. Come on, just a few words."

He was trying to get in my head, and as much as I wanted to block him out, I couldn't. His offer was too appealing to me. Not to mention, I really had to go to the bathroom.

"Come on, you can do it. You want clothing right? You want a nice warm bath, to be clean? Maybe some hot food, and cool water. Better sleeping conditions? Just a few words."

I didn't want to give in. But in all fairness, I felt like I was getting the better end of the deal. He never said that I had to mean it. Just say it. Besides, after I got my necessities I could always deny him again. My brain was already inventing excuses to give in.

I lifted my head up, clearing away the stray tears. "I am a salve."

"Who's slave?"

"Yours."

"And what is my name?" This was the worst question of all. "Who am I?" he asked again.

"Master Cullen."

"Well done, Bella. Good girl." He rubbed the back of my head. I heard the lock click on the cage and the little door opened. "Freedom." I crawled out on my hands and knees, and then onto the soft, fluffy white carpet. It felt like a cloud compared to the cage. I stretched my legs; they had been cramped for so long. "Better?"

I felt humiliated. I gave up. I felt like my pride had been wounded. It was sickening to me.

"You did good Bella, I'm very happy with you. And don't worry, you did the right thing. Better to enjoy your new occupation, then to suffer in it." I stopped when I got to the middle of the floor, and then once again, pulled my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.

I was still not fully covered. "Clothes." He said pointing to me. "You need clothes. And since you did so well, I feel obligated to give you some. Would you like that?"

I nodded in silence.

"Perhaps a bath first? I wouldn't want to put clean clothes on a dirty Bella. Right?" He tilted his head to the side to see my face, but I quickly put it down further. Is that what you want?

I nodded.

"Is that what you want?" I nodded harder. "Answer me." I nodded again. "I said answer me."

"Yes," I whispered.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, maser Cullen." I jumbled the words into one fast sentence. But it seemed to suit him.

"Good Bella. Your learning. That wasn't all that hard now was it?" He opened the door to the bathroom. I heard the running of water into a tub. One part was happy that I was about to take a nice warm bath, and that I was out of my small cramped cage. But the other part of me was humiliated and ashamed. But in the end, I knew it was just a game for me. I would do whatever it took to get back to Charlie. Even consent to him.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello tigerlily3489: I will really think about your idea. Thank you all for your reviews, and for once and for all**. ****YES I AM CONTINUING THE STORY****.**

**Edward's Point of View**

After I was done running the bath water, I gave Bella her privacy, by leaving her to do her business in the bathroom. I grabbed a pair of clothes and set them on the bathroom counter before I left. She seemed grateful, even though she never said thank you.

I grasped her arm before she went in the bathroom, "I have a few errands to run, but by no means are you allowed to leave this room. I will leave you to attend to your business, but if you try to escape, know that there will be punishment at great cost for you. Is that understood?"

She looked like she wanted to slaughter me. All through my speech she never once made eye contact, just simply look away in the other direction. I shook her a little.

"Is that understood?" She nodded, a little frustrated. I couldn't help but smirk a little at her stubbornness. I would have pushed further for her call me master one last time, but she looked beyond exhausted, and fatigued. I let her go. She didn't spare a moment as she rushed into the bathroom and shut the door with out so much as a glance my way.

I went down to the CFH, Confiscations for Humans. Mainly just out of curiosity. Julian Flores was head of the operation now. I opened the door, and walked inside, I didn't see anyone. I heard some papers being stacked and then the sound of approaching feet.

"Master Cullen! What a, a, surprise. A good surprise." He smirked, uneasily. "To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" He was nervous, considering the fact that he had just been promoted. I had executed the last head of CFH, for having relations with a human girl. It was simply forbidden. Not only did he have relations with a human, but she was pregnant as well. Of course I did not want to do away with him, he was good friend, but he insisted that we could not take his child. We did not know what the child would be, and Aro insisted that we do away with it.

He would have been sentenced to life in the prison, but the girl had to be killed. He would not have it. He protected her until I executed the last blow to him. Protecting a human. What a stupid thing to do.

"I need the confiscations of Swan, Bella."

"Yes, sir. Just a moment." He ran to the back. I put my hands in my pocket and looked around. On the table was an old brown book. I turned it my way, it read, "Dreaming, reality or truth." Dreaming. I picked it up, and flipped through some of the pages. From what I read it seemed uninteresting and boring. I set it back down as Julian returned, hurrying to me. "These are the confiscations of Swan Bella."

He looked at me and then the brown book on the table. He picked it up with care. This confused me a little.

"Why concern yourself with boring reading material? About humans of all things."

"Well on the contrary, Master Cullen, I find the human race to be a very interesting culture to read about. Dreams, in which they inter into a new world, a world that doesn't exist. And they do it unconsciously! Amazing!" I couldn't' help but stare at him. He put his head down a little. "Although, you are right Master Cullen, it can be boring."

I walked away and took a seat at one of the tables, setting that small tin box in front of me. I opened it, her scent came rushing out. I thought they disinfected this stuff. I turned away for a moment, letting the scent subside a little. In the box there were many different trinkets. I picked up a small black bracelet. It was plain, not at all flashy. I put it aside. A set of house and car keys, a couple simple rings, chap stick.

I was about to shut the tin box, disappointed, when something caught my eye. A small hair tie. I picked it up and looked over it. The color of light blue. I rubbed it through my fingers, letting the scent escape. I could smell her scent along with a type of strawberry shampoo. I inhaled deeper, closing my eyes, it was intoxicating. Quickly I slipped it into my back pocket as a souvenir of mine, as I closed the box and locked it.

"Thank you for your services," I said handing the box to Julian, who tried to hide the book at my unexpected approach.

"Oh, you're welcome, anytime Master Cullen. Did you find what you were looking for?" I turned and started to walk away, ignoring him. "I hope you did sir. Have a nice day, or night. Come back anytime! Have a nice-" I closed the door behind me. The guard looked at me.

"Good evening Master Cullen. Did you find what you were looking for?" I looked at him and smirked a little.

"It will do for now." I twisted and walked away. I was almost to my room, when I heard the most annoying voice in the in the world.

"Edward!" Vincent. A suck up to Aro. "Edward," he put his arm on my shoulder, "Aro wants to see you in his office."

"He usually does." I let his hand slip off my shoulder as I turned in the opposite direction and speed raced to his office. I knocked on the door three times.

"Come in Edward."

I opened he door, and sauntered in. I really didn't want to talk to him. "You wanted to see me?

"Yes," he pointed to a chair, "have a seat, if you will." I sat down across from him. Aro smiled. "I trust you enjoyed your gift? I hope she provided you with a little entertainment." I didn't say anything to this. He looked at me more intently, "You have disposed of her, haven't you?" I looked away, staring at the blank white walls, my hand slowly slipping into my pocket. Aro put his elbows on the table, folding his hands together, in a waiting manner.

"No, Sir, I haven't yet." I felt for the soft ribbon.

"Yet," he repeated, smiling a little.

"Yes Sir." I rubbed the ribbon between my fingers.

"But are you enjoying the little human? You must be, if she's still alive. I must say, I am exceedingly astonished that she still lives." I didn't reply, I had no answer for him. I curled the soft ribbon around my fingers many times, enjoying the sense of pleasure it gave me.

"Would that be all then Sir?"

"I have a job coming up for you. Although I'm not quite sure I want to take it on. I think Alice might be better for it, but then again you both were always a good team. Maybe I'll send both of you. I will let you know the details, when I sort through them. And that would be all."

"Thank you Sir." I turned to leave, Aro still smiling uncontrollably. I shut the door behind me, thank goodness! I hate those meetings. I lifted my hand out of my pocket, the perfume of her on my hands.

I lifted my hand to my face, and inhaled deeply, letting the smell linger.

"Edward!" I turned slightly. "What did Aro say?"

"Must you know everything in my life Vincent?" I started to walk away, as fast as I could. I just wanted to get back to my room.

"Oh, come on."

"Another mission."

"Did he say?"

"No." I unlocked the door to my room and shut it quickly. Thank goodness!!!!

"Hey, Edward," a happy little voice chimed. My hand went to my face in frustration. But Alice was the exception to the rules. She and I were the closet of anybody.

"Alice."

"So, where's the present?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Aro told me, but he wouldn't tell me what it was. He said it was a secret, and you know I had to find out then."

"It's nothing, really."

"Oh, it's something. The smell is all over your room." My face stiffened a little as I heard the drain in the tub lift up. "Can I play with it?"

"No"

"Pleasesss?? I promise I'll be careful."

"Alice, she's already been through a lot."

"She? So, it's a girl."

"Alice, please."

"I just want to see her. I'll just look and leave."

"You might scare her." Alice gave me a little look.

"Since when did you care about a human's feelings?"

"I don't!!!"

"Just let me have a glimpse of her."

"No." There was a knock at the door. What now?!!!!!!!

"Let me in!!!" Now Emmett?!!! My face tightened.

"Both of you get out!!!" Emmett barged in; I forgot to lock the door after getting rid of Vincent.

"So where's the bundle of flesh?"

"Emmett! Alice! Get out!!! Now!"

"Edward you promised," Alice said making a sad face.

"I never promised you anything! And it's too dangerous. I don't know how you will react to her smell." Alice glared at me for my pitiful excuse.

"Why? Your going to kill it anyways, I just want to her first before you do so."

"Well it's not going anywhere to tonight. I would like to keep it for a little while longer."

"So she's going to sleep in here tonight?" Emmett gave me a playful look. "Since when to do you get into those things?" I glared at him.

"Get out."

"Emmett is right, Edward. Where is it going to sleep? You don't have a bed."

"I'll figure something out."

"Well, that's not exactly what I meant, but that sounds better," Emmett grumbled.

"Please, Please Alice, I will make it up to you in full, if you just leave tonight. And I promise you, you will get to see her before her life ends. Just please, go." She sat up, no expression.

"Fine, I'll leave for now, but I better see her. And not when she's almost dead either."

"Fine. It's a deal. You have my word!" She smiled, pulling Emmett along and shutting the door behind them. I exhaled deeply. All this over a human.


	4. Chapter 4

It was nice to finally clean myself completely. I pulled a white towel from the cabinet and wrapped my hair in it. I smelled good for the first time in what felt like a long time. My life felt like it had been turned upside down, and every event that happened was out of my control

How ever did I become a slave? It all seemed like a dream or more like a nightmare, that I couldn't seem to wake up from. And as much as I didn't want to, I had to somehow except that this was my life, this was really happening to me.

I hung the towel on the rack, and grabbed the clothing that had been laid out for me. It was very plain. A small, black knee length dress. I could not identify what material it was made out of. It was cotton, or wool, but it was a heavy material that kept me warm when I slipped it on. I preferred long sleeved, but this material was cut at the shoulders.

I ran my fingers through my hair, and then let it hang loosely around my shoulders. I was done, but I didn't want to go back out and face my current situation that I had been forced into. And I didn't want to see my so called, 'master'. It hadn't even been a day, and I already hated him with a passion. And it was obvious that he held no respect for me at all.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Bella, you have two minutes to finish, and then I want you out here". I scrunched my face in disgust at his orders. He didn't even say please, or for that matter, never really gave me a choice. I could be in pain on the toilet for all he knew. Well, I still had two minutes. "One minute," his voice came through the door again. Ok one minute.

I put my hand on the knob.

"Times up. Get out!" I didn't say anything to this. "Bella! Don't make me drag you out. Believe me when I say it will be most unpleasant for you". He sounded angry. Was this guy ever in a good mood? "Bella!"

I opened the door to a seething appearance. No, he was not happy at all. He grabbed my arm, and slammed me against the wall. My breath was easily knocked out from the unexpected action. "Bella, I will not remind you again of you position in life. If you ever pull something like that again, I will personally define the word pain for you. Do you understand?"

I chest was still searching for every bit of air that it could get in. I looked away from his face.

His cold hand squished both my cheeks together, until even I could imagine how ridiculous I looked, and turned my head back in his direction. "Do not turn away when I am talking to you. And I asked you a question."

"I didn't hear the question." I knew I was trying his patients. Of course I heard the question, but didn't like the way he said it. Still keeping his grip on my cheeks, he took his free hand and twisted my arm behind my back. A surging pain went through my body, as I let out a yelp.

"Do you think me fool Bella? I am not fond of being toyed with. I will not be toyed with! Now answer my question this instant!"

"How about you ask nicely! And then I'll think about it!" I pushed harder bending my arm. I screamed, but I quickly bit my lip to keep myself from making sound. I felt his foot dig into my back, as he pushed me down on my knees.

"Answer my question, and the pain will stop." His foot dug deeper and deeper, until I could feel tears rolling down my face out of pain. "Answer me."

"Alright," I finally said my voice hoarse. "I understand."

"You understand what?"

"I understand that I will not-" I was at a lost for words. But he quickly filled in.

"Disobey you. Say it over again."

I gritted my teeth. "I understand that will not disobey you."

"Is there something you want to add to the end of that sentence?" NO!

"Master."

"Say it over again, and the proper way."

"I understand that I will not disobey you, master."

"Good. Good girl." I felt his grip loosen, as he let my body drop to floor, as it was too weak to hold itself up. "Hopefully next time you will come to your scenes sooner." I restrained myself from glaring at his perfect face. My hatred was bubbling inside of me.

But I didn't want the pain any more tonight.

"Other than your unpleasant experience, I hope you had a nice bath. You will have no more privileges until you start behaving yourself. I made it very clear that you are a slave now, nothing more. And I expect you to act like it. I will get results from you, even if I have to force it out of you. Now go to sleep."

I looked around me. Where was I to sleep? I looked at the small chair in the corner of the room. It looked like a nice place to curl up in. I went towards it, but felt a tug on my arm.

"No, the floor," Edward pointed to the rug that was situated in the middle of the floor. The floor? Why not the chair? "Now!" I went the rug and laid down, curling myself up into a tight ball, and covering my face. I didn't want him to see the emotional feelings that were starting to surface. I would not let him see my misery.

I felt a warm blanket lay across my small form. "Sleep well." The words seemed so soft, almost as if he wasn't a complete monster a few moments ago.

I buried my head deeper. I heard a chuckle. "You do have quite a temper, don't you?" He chuckled again. "Well, in time that will be fixed."

He ran his fingers through my damp hair. "I have to leave for now, but I will be back shortly. My suggestion to you, is to try to get some sleep, and don't try to escape. Besides, you wouldn't get far anyway. You have a big day tomorrow, you will need you sleep."

The lights went off, and the room was utterly black. I sat up a little in slight alarm. I didn't like the dark that much. And I didn't really feel good about being in a dark room, in a strange environment, and where I knew no one.

"Lay down," came a command from somewhere in the room. The words were not harsh, but they still bothered me. A small lamp was flipped on. It wasn't too bright; it was actually quite dim, and perfect for sleeping. "I'll leave it on until I return; you seemed to not like the dark." He smiled at this. "I find that very interesting. Sleep well."

He left swiftly. Good riddance! I lay back down, letting my head rest. The rug wasn't comfortable when I first laid on it, but now it seemed comfy, and relaxing. Maybe it was just that I was tired.

I was glad he turned on the lamp. If it wasn't for the lamp, I would've had a hard time trying to sleep. Sleep was already almost impossible to get, I didn't need to add the fear of the dark to it too. I yawned and closed my eyes; sleep came quicker than I thought.

"_Hey Bella, want to hand me that coke?"_

"_Charlie, you would be hopeless without me. But don't worry, I still love you."_

"_Yeah, you better." I handed him the coke. The door bell rang. "You mind getting that bells?"_

"_Sure." I walked over to the door. There was no one standing there. _

"_Who is it Bells?"_

"_No one, just a sales call. Probably just some advertisement or something." For some reason, it felt like something bad was going to happen. Like some part of me already went through this. _

"_Well see what it was." I opened the door. A burst of wind knocked me off my feet. I fought to shut the door, but it wouldn't budge. I gave up, and started to run towards the kitchen, where Charlie was. All I could hear was wind everywhere, and everything started to blur. _

"_Charlie!" I called. I looked to the table where he had been sitting, but he was no where to be seen. "Charlie!"_

"_Bella!" I heard his voice from a distance, but I could not find him. "Bella! Run! Run! Bella!"_

"_Charlie!!!!" I ran all around looking for him. My vision came clear for only a moment. And I saw him. I saw him torn apart. Dead. I covered my face, in shock, and despair. "Charlie."_

"_Bella," came a soft voice. "Bella." I could find the voice. I felt my body shake, "Bella". ……………._

My eyes opened, and my body shot up from my sleeping position. Darkness was all around me. My breathing was heavy. I rubbed my wet eyes. Another nightmare. The lamp was off, that did not suit me. Edward must be back, or was he?

I stood up; I had to go to the bathroom. I put my arms out in front of me to feel my way around.

"Where are you going?" I jumped a little.

"I, have to go to the bathroom." I heard a soft click, and the lamp came on once again, dim the room with a soft glow. And making Edward look irresistible.

"Well, you're going the wrong the way." I looked in front of me; I was heading for the door. Opps. "Hurry up, and get back to bed." I ran to the bathroom and did my business. When I came out, Edward was smiling a little smirk to himself.

I gave him a slight confused look.

"Where you having nightmares again?" I nodded, as I shivered at the thought of remembering it. "Did you want to talk about it?"

"No," I said in a definite tone. "Master."

He smiled again. "I'm pleased that you're learning your manners. I knew you could be a good girl, with the right punishment."

I plopped back down on the rug, and covered myself with the blanket once again.

"For what it's worth Bella, I am sorry about Charlie." I lifted up a little in unease.

"What did you do to him?"

"I did nothing."

"Where is he?"

"In Forks as far as I know."

"Is he alive, or did your men kill him!" My voice was raised a little, but he didn't seem to mind.

"They were not my men. And yes I believe he still alive. I can't imagine why they would go out of their way to find your father, when they already got what they came for."

"But, he could be dead." Edward came over to me, and squatted down. He looked into my sad eyes, and held a certain form of sympathy.

"Possibly. But like I said, it would be beyond the call of duty, and they usually tend not to concern themselves with other matters." I put my head down. "No more crying Bella. It doesn't suit you."

"He's all I had."

"Have." He lifted my chin up, "no more crying. No more nightmares. Now close your eyes, and lay down." I laid back down covering my face, feeling a little better that we did talk a little. "I'll see you in the morning, and as always, sleep well Bella."

I was already half asleep when the lamp went off. The darkness was hardly noticed, as my body was already in darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

I opened my eyes in small slits, and looked around my surroundings. I jumped a little in surprise, my brain seeking answers for where I was. Where was I?

I lifted myself up a little, my bones aching with stiffness from sleeping on such a hard surface. I put both my hands to my ears, hoping that I could push the answers into my mind. My eyes finally adjusted and I opened them wider to look around fully.

My surroundings where murky and dark, not one inch of light blessed the room. Was it even sunrise? Or was it still night time? My eyes caught the slight image of a medal cage sitting in a corner of the darkened room, and just then an overflow of memories flooded into my head; filling it with pain, sorrow, hopelessness.

I was very far away from home. The memory of Charlie surged into my mind, and it stabbed me with a vengeance to think of him. I no longer knew if he still lived, or was if he was dead somewhere. With anger I closed my eyes, _I have no home, my home is burned._

I had been cursed for unknown reasons to this strange and horrible place to serve a cruel unfeeling monster.

"Good morning." The voice called me out of my memories and back into reality, the last place I wanted to be. I turned my eyes in its direction. My eyes had adjusted to the unlit room, so I could see him now in the darkness standing before me; his body leaned slightly against the bathroom door frame.

His strong white body smothered in gold ripples of light. I studied his beauty bitterly, until our eyes met and I gasped a little; his gaze was as keen as ice and looked into the very depths of my being. "Did you sleep well?" He smiled slightly as if he already knew the answer, and he put the towel he was using to dry his face on a near by table.

I turned my eyes away. As much as he wanted to, he would never hold power over me; I knew that he could most likely sense my fury with him, and a part of me feared how he would respond.

I heard a soft quiet laughter. I turned back to face my captor and found that he was regarding me with something like amusement; and despite myself I almost smiled a little as well at my stubbornness to him. But it would irk my pride, and so I decided to show nothing to him.

"Well I hope you did," his smile grew ever more as he looked me over, "today is a unique day for you." He went about the room straitening a few things and then paused, looking himself over in the mirror, as he finished buttoning up the top of his shirt.

I was very tempted to blurt out my question of why today was so special; my face was already scrunched up in confusion. He met my eyes through the mirror, as I started back as coolly as I could without blushing, and somehow I managed to contain my voice and forced myself to wait for him to say more. He gave me a dark smile of amusement, as if he was starting to finally realize just how stubborn I was. He turned back around, his appearance more perfect then I had been before; if that was possible.

"It would be better if you got dressed instead of sitting there." That was not what I wanted to hear, and I knew that he knew that from the small smirk he gave me as he sauntered over to his closet. "Come here," he said with a small hint of demand in his voice.

I shook my head. I was not going anywhere until I knew where and what it was. I could tell my open defiance irked him, and he sighed as if he were trying to be as patient as possible. Perhaps he was guilty by how he treated me last night. But how could someone so brutal and monstrous feel guilt?

His gaze was unsettling and it disturbed hidden depths within me. He always looked down on me with a stare of inferiority, like I was a quarrelsome dog that he had to train.

"Bella, do not be difficult today. I do not want to have to punish you, but I will if I need to. I will not be treated in a lesser way by you. If you need a replay of last night I am more than happy to oblige. Now come here, I will not ask again."

I could feel a small feeling of fear in the pit of my stomach; did I dare push him further? He growled in irritation, and I flinched; he looked ready to charge, but he was holding himself back.

I stumbled up, my legs shaking from the weight of my body. They were stiff with pain and it hurt to move them. When I finally got my bearing to stand, he again indicated for me to come to him. I took my steps slowly, and with every slow step he seemed to grow more impatient.

With much effort I made it over to him, and kept my eyes looking down only at my feet.

"I expect that next time you will be faster. I see that you are stubborn, but do not think me that patient Bella. I will not play games with you." He gripped my shoulder in an iron clasp; I flinched in pain. "Do not amuse yourself with me."

My patients were thinning as well, and with out control I blurted out, "I was going as fast as I could!" I quickly clamped my mouth shut in alarm. I didn't mean to yell.

We both stood there in the silence of the dim room. His intense gaze burning right through me, while my eyes roamed around the room to stare at anything but him. I didn't dare meet his eyes; instead I found a small place on the floor to look at and to mentally prepare myself for his wrath.

"Were you now?" He asked bending his head down to meet my eyes. His voice held a form of laughter and deviousness in it and it caught my attention. I raised my head slowly, and melted into his golden honey glazed eyes. "Am I to assume you were in pain then, and not trying my patients?"

"Well, you try sleeping on a hard floor!" He nodded slightly in understanding, smiling again, only this time it was not to me it was to himself.

"Umm, well your sleeping arrangements can be arranged with good behavior."

"Why would I ever to anything you ask of me," my voice had a steel edge to it.

"Why not at least give it try? I am not that bad Bella. Your life would be much more pleasant, all I ask is for a little trust. It is not me that torments you; it is your own temper and stubbornness. I find it amusing at times, others, it can quit frustrating. Perhaps if you were more obedient, you too would gain something out of the situation. But you will never know that until you give it a try."

His grip loosened on my arm and I could feel a surged of blood rush back into my arm where he had been cutting off circulation.

He opened the closet doors, and looked over many different clothes items. My mouth was agape with wonder. So many were the choices, I didn't know where to begin.

Shirts of all different colors, and skirts along with many different size pants. Scarves, sweaters, shorts, tank tops, jackets and so on. I had wondered when he had accumulated all these items; I had only been here for not even a whole day. And last night when he went to run errands he wasn't gone _that_ long, and there was no way he could have brought all these accessories in with out waking me.

And from what I knew, that was he last outing, he remained in the room the entire night.

Right?

He looked at me and then at the clothes, then at me again, comparing and sizing me up for the clothes. It was uncomfortable for me to sit there while he decided what I was to wear. What _I_ was to wear. I felt like an infant or perhaps a barby –doll.

He reached in and grabbed a piece of clothing; I didn't even want to look at what he chose for me. He then reached in the closet again pulling something else out. "This will do nicely on you." He shoved the outfit in my hands, "You will wear this. Now go get changed."

Without even looking at him, I didn't waste time in leaving his side to go in the bathroom. I shut the door; thankful for the first time today, to be away from him. To not be under his correcting gaze all the time.

"Do not be long Bella," he said through the door. I wanted to scream, _Go away!!_, but I thought better of it. I unraveled the clothing he had given me and looked it over. It was the usual clothing for a girl; underwear, bra. But what caught my attention was a short dark blue dress lined with small white ruffles and lace. It was….beautiful.

I quickly put on the necessities, and then held the dress up to my body in the mirror to see how it looked without me putting it on. The color was amazing on my skin, and from what I saw, it was a perfect fit as well. That was creepy.

I quickly slipped it over my head, letting it fall smoothly across my body structure. If was soft and comfortable. I spun around in the mirror for a moment smiling at how perfect the dress looked. I especially liked the little white bow that hung at the edge of the dress. It was perfect, a little short, but then again it could have been a lot worse.

I slowly opened the door and pecked around the corner. The door was yanked open; my fingers losing their grip. "Finally, I'm so happy you decided to grace me with your presence-" his tone was very sarcastic and irritated, until he suddenly paused.

I looked at him, wondering if I did something. But our eyes did not meet, as he was too busy looking me over with look of possessiveness in his eyes. We stood in silence as his eyes roamed freely for what felt like forever. I squirmed inside at his intense gaze. I switched my weight onto the other foot, hoping that I would get his attention, and then he would stop.

But he didn't move one inch. He stood as a stone statue, lifeless and unmovable. I rolled my eyes, feeling cheap as he looked me over as if I were an expensive item. I decided to break the ice of the cold silence. "It's a little short," I said thumbing the ends of the dress.

"No," he replied almost instantly after my short comment, like he expected me to say exactly what I said. He smiled, "it's beautiful." I could feel the hot blush rise in my cheeks; I kicked myself inwardly for it. "But you are missing something.."

He put his hand to his chin and walked in circles around me, like a vulture circling its prey. After a few moments he smirked. "Ah, I know." He flashed across the room, flung open his closet doors grabbed something and blazed back to me; his movements where as quick as a flicker. In the blink of an eye I would have missed him.

What was he?

"Here, put these on." He held up a pair of white bowed shoes. They were simple and mated well with the dress. I took them and bent down on one knee to put them on. I undid them, and slid my foot in, only this time I was not surprised by the perfect fit.

I went to do the other foot, and as undid the other shoe I felt something slip around my neck. I jumped as I lost my balance and fell backwards on the floor. I looked at Him in alarm as I reached my hand up to my neck.

At first I thought was a necklace; but the more I felt it, the less it felt like a necklace. He grabbed my foot from under me, laughing to himself while finished strapping my other foot in the white delicate shoe. I glared at him as a terrible thought occurred to me. It now seemed clear what the material was that was strapped tight around my neck was.

He stood up chuckling, his shoulders shaking violently in amusement.

"Yes, Bella, it's a collar, especially designed to bind you to me. And _you_ are not to take it off ever. I will be the only one to remove it and it will only be removed for you to bathe. If you do manage somehow to get it off, you will be punished severely, believe me there where will be no place for you to hide. Then I will put it back on you, only you will find that it will be a lot more uncomfortable for you. My suggestion is to not fight this order as you so accustomed to doing. I may let you slid on other matters, but there is no leniency for this ruling."

I was too focused on my hatred for him to reply, although I never heard him ask for an answer.

"By the way, you look beautiful. And even the collar compliments your dress; I think Aro will enjoy meeting you."

Who was he? I looked at him questioningly.

"He is a very good friend, and is to be treated with the utmost respect. If there is anytime for you to be on your best behavior, Bella, it is today. I will not be made a fool of in front of a very dear friend. You will not speak, unless spoken to. And you will not look upon him as your equal. You will remember you place without me reminding you. If I have to remind you, you will be whipped by me."

So this person was _really_ important to him. It certainly sounded fun to embarrass him, but the whipping would be unpleasant. Perhaps too high of a price.

We left the room, his hand gripped around my arm in an iron clasp. His body never was further than an inch away from mine, as it towered over me. With each passerby his grip would tighten and then slowly loosen again, I feared that I would have a bruise on my arm.

We stopped in front of a deep wooden door. He knocked at the door. I didn't hear any voices, but he opened the door and entered into the room, pulling me along side him. The room was dimly lit by a small lamp, I could barley see.

The small lamp sat on a large desk, and shone through the eyes a pale face. His skin was absolutely white, but his pallor gave no sense of weakness; he looked strong and muscular. The very nearness of him made me sense his keen energy. He looked as if her was in the first flowering of his manhood, so young looking, but his gaze was ancient.

He froze me where I stood, with his intent stare.

"Leave us." He spoke in a deep but gentle voice; not what I had expected. I expected a harsh commanding voice.

I jumped a little as I saw a figure appear out of a dark corner of the room, with smile on his face. My eyes followed him to the door. The one who had took me away from my life, and possibly killed my father. My heart was pounding, in anger, my blood pulsing. I glared at him with all my hatred; his smile grew as he winked at me taking his leave.

I wanted nothing more then to be free once more.

**I have pictures of Bella's collar and blue dress.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm glad to hear you all like the story. And I have not given up on this story or any of my other stories. Updates just come slowly now that I've started my schooling again. I will try to update as fast as I can. Happy Reading!!!**

Edward's grip was so tight around my arm that I knew he would surly leave a bruise. I tried to wiggle loose of his tight grip, but instead I got a warning glare from Edward as he tightened his grip even tighter. I winced at the pain and turned away from his gaze.

"So," I looked at Aro's face, "this is the delightful present." Aro's eyes traveled over me in assessment. My face scrunched in disgust as I squirmed under his gaze. Aro's eyes stopped immediately as they locked onto mine. His gaze was demeaning and made me feel as if I was the dirt underneath his fingernails.

His eyes were so intense I found myself turning away or looking at the floor most of time. Time seemed to keep passing, as we all just stood there in silence. Edward's grip was still tight around my arm, as Aro continued to stare at me with his own sick amusement.

The first sound to break the silence was Aro's chuckling. He smiled with delight as he turned to Edward. "Edward, this is without doubt the longest time I've ever seen you spend with a human. I am amused by the situation but not surprised."

He laughed again, folding his hands together. "She is attractive. What amount of restraint you much have shown when you first met her. Even now, you seem to be struggling with your own control. Tell me, I'm ever so curious, what do you find so amusing about this one?"

"She is quite adequate in entertainment. I find she strikes my interest in the way she conducts herself. I like to study her behavior as a human only out of inquisitiveness nothing more. When I am satisfied with my study I will dispose of her." His voice so even; not a hint of emotion. My eyes widened at the laid back tone he held of doing away with me so easily.

He described me as a study! As if I were some crawling insect that he would look at only for his own enjoyment and when done he would smash me with ease not even giving a second thought to it.

Aro looked at my face of horror as I contemplated my own death. He smiled a little, "so I take it you like your gift. Seeing how she's not dead yet, and you clearly like to," he put his hand on cheek in a thoughtful expression, "study her intently for your human discoveries. I don't blame you though Edward, she is quite a specimen to study."

Edward nodded, "I do enjoy studying her, but I retain no natural feelings of affection for it." _It? Now instead of a she, I'm an It?"_

Aro nodded, "I see. I suppose that's a good thing considering the situation we just had with Orlando and his recent affections for a human. I would hate to think you would ever acquire such feelings for a human. You and he would share the same fate if ever that were to happen of course." Aro's eyes drifted to me again, "and the girl would not be far behind you."

"I understand."

Aro smiled and laughed again, "oh Edward, do not take my warnings so seriously. I know completely and have full trust in that fact that you would never throw your prominent position away so easily. Least of all for a human. Of all things!"

"Yes sir."

"However, the real reason I called you in here was not only to asses your new and interesting study but also to address to you the final details of your next assignment." At last, Edward's grip loosened on my arm. I could feel the blood rushing back into where he had been squeezing me.

I reached up and rubbed my sore arm with my untouched arm, wincing a little at the small lump I could feel forming on my arm.

Aro's hand leisurely pointed towards me, "If you will please." I looked around in panic as I tired to piece together exactly what he meant. Edward turned to me as he grabbed my arm again, this time with less force. He dragged me to the door, and as he opened it simply threw me out.

My body stumbled over my own feet but not enough to fall, only to embarrass myself. Edward pointed his index finger at me, narrowing his eyes, "you will stay here until I return." He turned to leave, as I was struggling to keep my big mouth shut. But I failed miserably.

"And what if I don't? Why should I?" Edward froze in his tracks as he slowly turned around to face me.

"Should you decide to not do as you're told I will p-" I put my finger to my chin as I interrupted him in mid speech.

"Let me guess, you'll punish me." I looked at Edward and promptly froze as he stalked toward me with anger. I jerked away and tried to run. Before I could even take a step I was pulled off the ground and slammed into a wall, my arms pinned above my head.

Edward's face was inches from mine as he spoke in a deadly tone. "I warned you Isabella Swan not to push me. I have my limits and you just crossed them."

"Your limits certainly don't go very far," I spat back in his face. He growled in irritation. Edward looked as if he were about to bust a blood vessel any second. Through Edward's seething anger, a somewhat familiar soft chuckle came from behind Edward.

"My, my, what an interesting slave you have Edward. So spirited, so confident." The voice was chillingly eerie and menacingly deep. "Perhaps I could help you control her."

Edward's glaring eyes never left mine as he spoke to the stranger. I would have looked away from Edward to see who it was, but I found myself paralyzed with a twitch of fear.

"That won't be necessary James." I could tell that Edward was embarrassed because of my rude behavior in public. Not only were we in public, but also Aro was on looking from his office smiling to himself.

"But my punishments are unbeatable. I guarantee, one hour with me, and she will never dare to disobey you again. Besides, Aro is waiting for you. Why don't you leave her with me, I'll watch her for you."

Edward released me from the wall, letting my body fall limply on the floor. I stood up shakily slowly regaining my balance. Once I was up Edward snatched my arm and pulled me behind himself. "I can control my own slave."

James laughed a scratchy ghostly laugh. "Seems like your doing a great job of that Edward." James laughed again holding his sides to contain his joy of laughter. Edward seethed in anger, as he had no rebuttal for James.

Edward's head turned in my direction practically pulling my arms out of their sockets as he dragged me close to him. "You will pay for this." He dragged me behind him as he reentered Aro's office, asking to be excused for a moment.

Aro looked at me with slight irritation and then nodded in approval.

In a rush of speed Edward yanked me along heading back to his room. But instead of going into his room we quickly sped past it. He led me down a long hall way, where the lights got dimmer and dimmer, until we were almost in complete darkness. The only light that stood out was a few lights that hung on the sides of the walls.

We slowed down as we arrived at a stone staircase. Standing at the top of them I could see how the staircase squiggled around into a swirl that was covered in darkness. Edward started down the massive staircase pulling me along with him. Our footsteps echoed off the hollow walls with every step we took.

Edward seemed to know completely where we were going even though I was blinded by darkness. Finally we came to a halt. I heard the jingle of keys and the unlocking of a door. The door opened with a creaking sound as Edward rushed in heaving me inside with him.

This room was a relief in a way. It had one soft light that hung on the wall. But the room itself was very dim, cold, and disturbing. Empty chains hung on the wall loosely just waiting for a prisoner. I looked around for any openings the room might have but there none. I watched as a rat scurried over past my feet at the shock of being discovered.

"Because of your rudeness and despicable behavior you will remain in here until I come back to complete your punishment. Until then, you will stay here."

Edward pulled down a chain from above us that I had not noticed before when we had entered the room. He pulled it down letting it dangle in front of me.

"I think it was worth it," I said evil eying him with defiance.

"Well, we will see." He grabbed me, ripping my blue dress off with ease. I shrieked as I backed away from him in shock of his actions. He stalked over to me grabbing me close to him again. He yanked off my shoes throwing them to wall. My arms were pulled up as he latched a chain around them.

He walked away from me, going to the corner of the room and started to turn something; I squinted my eyes to see what it was but there was no need as I felt my body being lifted off the ground the chains pulling me up by my wrists. My feet dangled below me in the cold empty air.

I winced at the pain of being hung by my wrists and tried not to show too much emotion. My writs felt as if any moment they would be pulled off. I threw my head back trying to deal with the throbbing pain surging through my arms.

"Perhaps this will give you time to think about your behavior. When I return you will have your punishment." I looked back at him in slight surprise. Was this not the punishment? There was more? "You didn't think I make it that easy did you Bella?" He shook his head smiling to himself. "No, the worst is still to come."

The coldness of the room didn't seem to bother me when I first arrived, but being in a small thin undergarment slip I could feel the cool stiffness of the chamber. Edward smiled as he ran his hand along my arms that where covered in goose bumps.

"I didn't want you to get your dress dirty." I was beyond angry, but I didn't have enough strength to yell at him or describe in detail exactly what I though about him. He turned to walk away, but then stopped at the door. He whirled around to look at me, his eyes shining with deviousness. "I hope you will have changed your demeanor by the time I get back, and hopefully this will give you time to get rid of that little attitude you have."

He sauntered out of the door. As he started to close the door I could hear him chuckling, and through a small crack of the door he whispered, "still think it's worth it Bella?" The door slammed shut as I heard the jingle of keys and the door being locked.

In the freezing dim darkness I was left alone. The pain was excruciating. I knew any moment that my arms would fall off. Edward had said the worst was still to come. What else would he do? Shove bamboo shoots up my nose, or fingernails?

He also said he had hoped for my _demeanor_ to have change by the time he got back. Ha! Fat chance! How on earth could he expect something like this would change my mind? If anything it would only anger me more to point of being _more_ defiant. I felt another shooting pain go through my arms as I thought about my predicament. I gritted my teeth and bit my tongue in an attempt of controlling my eagerness to scream out in pain.

I put my head down, looking at the ground below me. How long would I be here? How long could I hang here without passing out from the pain? I closed my eyes trying not to think about the soreness, and waited…….

&

&

&

&

&

&

&

My eyes were closed but it was impossible to go to sleep in my position. I had been hanging for at least an hour, or maybe more. Maybe it had been less than an hour. My brain could longer keep track of the time. It felt like it had been forever, but maybe I only felt that way because of the ache I was feeling.

Perhaps Edward was not even close coming back. My brain continued to throw negative thoughts my direction. My positive thoughts had all been used up in the prolonging time. I had told myself many times that Edward would be back any second, but seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours, until there was nothing but negative thoughts left.

My brain was programmed to listen for the sound of foot steps, but nothing came. I could hear nothing but the occasional sound of rats scurrying around on the cold stone ground and the sound of my own chains jingle as I moved my fingers to make sure there was still life in them.

Finally there was a sound at the door. I could hear the door to the cell slowly unlocking. My eyes widened a little in hope of getting down from this miserable position. My neck hurt to look in the direction of the door for too long.

I heard the tip toeing of someone. My senses where alarmed, I knew it could not be Edward. The figure was quiet, slow and graceful as they came and stood in front of me. I looked up at the someone that had entered.

In the dim light it was hard to see clearly who exactly it was. They were small, and female. Since the time I had been taken away from my previous life forced to live in this miserable place I had not met any women, just men. Cruel degrading men. In silence I wondered what she was like. Would she too be just as malicious?

She bent down and looked at my face. The glimpse that I could see of her was beautiful. She had short black hair and calm glassy eyes that held curiosity. When our eyes met she smiled at me.

"Hi, I'm Alice Cullen."

"Bella," I croaked out. My voice was raw and scratchy. My throat was dry and itchy. Edward had a sister?

"Hi, Bella. You belong to my brother?" At the thought of Edward, my blood boiled with anger.

"I belong to no one," I answered in a tempered tone. A soft giggle came from Alice.

"I heard you embarrass Edward in front of Aro. The whole academy seems to be talking about it." She laughed again. "I'm glad you did. No one seems to have the courage to stand up to him.

"He deserved it."

"Yes, I agree. Edward needs to be tried now and again." I put my head down a little in despair.

Thinking out loud without even noticing it I replied, "I'm starting to wonder if it was even worth it." Alice looked at the predicament I was in and frowned a little.

"I don't think he should be punishing you this way. This is an awful way to treat someone."

"How did you know I was down here?"

"I'm his sister. I know where all his favorite spots for torture are. I looked for you in his room, but when you weren't there, I came here." I was starting to like Alice. "I also know that he's planning a second punishment for you"

I looked up, with interest and slight anxiety. "I know, he told me. But what that punishment is, is what would like to know."

Alice looked away for a split second and then replied in a dismayed tone, "He wants to whip you. It's always his second approach after these situations." I hung my head in defeat and misery. A whipping would be unbearable in this position.

"I'll get you down." I looked at Alice as if she were an angle from heaven. Not only did she agree with me on many things about Edward, but she was willing to defy him and take me down.

I could feel the chains on my arm slowly beginning to loosen as I was lowered back down to the ground. When my feet touched the ground I felt my body collapse instantly like a limp noodle to the cold floor. Before I actually hit the ground Alice caught me, helping me up.

"Thank you," I said with a relived sigh, "I don't know what I would have done if-"

"Alice!" Someone snarled from the doorway. "What are you doing!" It was Edward and he was shaking with anger as he glared at Alice. I don't know how anyone could ever glare at something so sweet and innocent. "I warned you to stay away from her!"

"And you also promised to let me see her before you decided to kill her!"

"She's not dead!"

"By the way you treat her she will be!"

"She's disobedient! If she weren't she wouldn't have to go through the punishments! She needs to obey the rules. And she won't if you come to her aid when I decide to teach her a lesson."

"But to this extreme is unnecessary."

"She doesn't belong to you Alice. She belongs to me. I will punish her in the way I see fit."

"And I will intervene in those punishments in the way I see fit." I couldn't help but smirk just a little. Edward saw the smirk and instantly yanked me from her grip. I yelped in pain as he was holding my injured and marred writs. My face now was a face of pain and pity.

Edward turned his head in my direction and grinned mockingly, "That's better." Edward turned to walk out, my hand still in his grasp. Alice jumped in front of Edward's path with a look fierce.

"You promised I could spend time with her."

"You just did."

"That doesn't count!"

"According to whom?"

"The one you made the deal with!" Edward turned away huffing in slight defeat.

"Alice today is not the day. I want Bella to remember this day, not as fun, but a day of punishment. And then hopefully next time she will remember this day and think twice before she acts insolently again." I turned my head in his direction to argue my point of defiance, but Edward gripped the bottom of my wrists again making me scream and bit my lip in pain.

He turned to me and smiled, "do you have something to say Bella?" I opened my mouth again in stubbornness, but quickly shut it as the pain increased. "Do you?" He asked again, as if daring me to say something defiant. I glared at him in frustration and then shook my head in slight crushed sprit. This seemed to please Edward as his evil smile covered his face, "Good, I'm glad you agree with me."

As we all traveled up the stairs I tried to listen in on the conversation between Edward and Alice, as she tried to persuade him to let me spend some time with her. But they spoke so quickly it made it hard to see which direction the conversation was going. In addition to not being able to understand them, I was being pulled evilly by my wrists up the never ending staircase. My legs ached and threatened to give in, but somehow they just kept taking another step, one after the other.

The pain was getting to be unbearable. I kept looking up hoping to see some end to the staircase but it just kept going and going. And Edward's grip was so tight on my wrist I could feel tears starting to form at the rim of my eyes from the throbbing ache. My legs were starting to give out as they hit the top of each stair, leaving small marks on my feet.

Edward seemed to be so engrossed in the conversation to notice I was no longer walking up the stairs but actually being dragged. The soreness was too much for me.

"Please stop!" I yelled. This seemed to capture the silent and instant attention of both Edward and Alice as they both turned to gaze at me. Edward twisted around to look at me in annoyance of my interrupting him. I looked into his eyes of irritation and stated my case, "your hurting me."

Edward looked me up and down. I knew I was truly in a pitiful state. My legs had given out, and I was kneeling behind Edward the only support coming from his grasp around my wrists. Edward's expression had turned from irritation to concern. He released my wrists slowly, while wrapping his arm around my waist for support.

He heaved me up into his arms bridal style, rushing up the rest of the staircase in speed as Alice traveled behind us. When we got the top he quickly ended his conversation with Alice by promising me to her on another day. I didn't really remember all the details, because of the pain, but I remember Alice smiling and winking at me as if she knew some secret.

She gave Edward a smug look then skipped off. I thought about why Alice would smile at me so, while Edward carried me back to his room. I was thankful I was no longer being dragged. I kept thinking about Alice's smile until I finally realized what she had managed to do.

With all her sly harassing of Edward and continuous conversation with him, she managed to get me out of my second punishment. How thankful and indebted I was to her.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello Vas K, Yes I plan to continue.

Hello MiSz MuSiC, I'm updating and by the way, I'm all for the wolves!

Hello BethyBooW, Hi I apologize for the confusion. I wanted to make it a sofa not a bed. So I'll have to go back and change that. Edward already knew Bella's name was Bella because it was in the papers he got with her. So it wasn't a name he made up, she knew that.

Hello ParisWasHere, Is Bella going to be a good girl? Not exactly.

Ask questions, sorry If I missed your question, ask it again.

Edward threw me into the room letting my body fall onto his floor. He slammed his door and the quickly stalked over to my fallen form.

I backed away on my hands while giving him my best fighting glare; I would not let him intimidate me. Edward grabbed my shoulder in a hard grip and yanked me close to him. I winced at the pain as I tried to shrug his hand off, but he only tightened it in irritation.

"I am not pleased with your behavior today Bella. I found it irritating and completely embarrassing to me." His voice dripped with fury as he refused to release or even ease his iron grip.

I looked into his eyes and gritted my teeth. "Perhaps you should do us both a kindness then and dispose of me. I seem to recall quite clearly you intended to get rid of me anyways."

The anger in my voice had taken Edward and I both by surprise, but it didn't take Edward long to regain his composure and respond with a hard slap across my face. In a shock I felt my body fly across floor. As I lay on the carpet my hands hastily went to my face to sooth the fiery pain that surging and pulsing on the side of my face.

My eyes began to blur as tears formed in my eyes from the amount of pain I was feeling. I closed my eyes and bit my lip to help my body cop with the pain but it never ceased it only continued to hurt more.

When I reopened my eyes Edward was squatting down in front of me trying to look at the cheek he had stuck that was now throbbing with pain. He reached up and gently tried to pull my hands down but I yanked away in anger, slapping his hand away.

"Don't touch me," I said backing away.

To my utter surprise and rage, Edward smiled at me. He never moved forward to get me but continued to remain in his squatted position. "You'd do well to let me have a look at your face Bella."

"And you'd do well to stay away from me."

"I won't hurt it."

"You already did, and I wouldn't put it past you to do it again!"

"You provoked it."

"So that gives you the right to slap me? You had no right!" Edward chuckled a little.

"Let's not talk about rights; I'm afraid that's a battle you'll lose. And in all fairness you did slap me back." I couldn't believe he was making a joke out of this situation.

"Only to keep you from touch me again, which I won't allow."

Edward's eyes brightened a little in amusement, which only made me feel more anger. "So you actually want me to believe you slapped my hand away in anger without the intention to hurt me?" He snickered to himself, "although it didn't hurt, I could tell you meant it to. So I consider us even. As for what you will allow me to do, that is a decision only I can make. And I would like very much to see the injury."

"Do you honestly think I will willingly let you touch me after what you just did?" Edward's face held an indifferent look on his face as he stood up and approached me.

"I don't care what you are willing or not willing to let happen to you, all I know is that it is in your best interest to let me look at the injury. I would hate for you to have a bruise on your beautiful face."

"It's a little late for that don't you think?"

Edward leaned down and put his hand on my harms, "No, but what I do know is that you'll have another slap coming your way if you don't gain control of that temper of yours. Now let me see it."

I looked fiercely at him as I slowly but surly lowered my hands to my sides. Edward's soft hands gently grasped my chin as he turned my head to the side tipping it towards the light. I saw as his other hand reached up, but before I could think I instinctively tried to pull away from. His grip tightened on my chin and held firm as he looked at me. "I'm not going to touch it Bella, but I need to see how deep it went."

I watched as his hand outlined the area on my cheek that felt like it was on fire. After a moment, Edward stood up and then heaved me up by grabbing my arms.

"It didn't go that deep; I'll be back in a few moments." Didn't go that deep! My face is in agony!! He didn't even apologize. Edward opened the door and while glancing back at me said, "Don't get cute," and then shut the door.

While he was away I went to the bathroom mirror to look at the damage on my face. To my surprise I wasn't as bad as it felt. I could see a round red area that was beginning to puff a little. I spent some time trying to pull my hair frontward to see if I could hide the horrible mark, but it was too far forward on my cheek to go unnoticed.

I was so entrenched in trying to find a nice cover for my mark when an amused voice came from the doorway of the bathroom. "It's not that bad." I jerked around and looked at Edward who was holding a small pack of ice and a bandage. "Granted it's noticeable, but at the same time it should serve as a reminder to you of where bad behavior will get you."

Edward didn't bother asking again as he snatched my arm and led me out of the bathroom and onto his small sofa. He took his seat next to me and laid out an assortment of stuff that he poured from a small pouch.

I tried to look at all the items, but Edward turned my head away from him tipping it to the side. I heard him open a small tube and squirt a liquid onto his fingers. I eyed his hand with panic.

Noticing my discomfort Edward smiled before he made another move, "This will sting just a little, but it will help with the swelling."

I felt his hand softly rub on a cold gel that slowly began to numb my cheek with a stinging pain. I whimpered and tried to bring my hands up to my face, but Edward quickly grabbed them before I could do so.

Edward unwrapped a small bandage and placed it loosely on my face. He ran his fingers through my hair curling the ends with the tips of his fingers. "Good girl. I promise the pain will pass soon." Edward stood up and looked down at me to examine his own work and then smiled in satisfaction. "I think it looks cute." He then walked over to his shelf and took from the top a small bag of something.

I looked over to see what it was, trying not to move my head too much. Edward shook the bag up and down that read "Humans," and looked at me with a sly smile. "Are you hungry? I picked this up from the market today while you were supposed to be on punishment."

I was hungry but I had no idea what was in that bag. Edward took down a small bowl, poured some water in it and then emptied the contents that were in the bag into the bowl. I stared at him strangely as he concocted something together. He placed the small bowl in a miniature microwave that was hidden on top of the cabinets.

It was done in a few moments and Edward removed the bowl and then smiled as he walked the invented food over to me. He leaned down and placed the bowl in my hands while placing a spoon in the mush that was in front of me. I looked down at the contents in my bowl and scrunched my face in disgust at the grey and brown mush that was steaming with a horrible smell.

I looked up at Edward and shook my head. "What am I to do with this? Surly you do not expect me to eat this."

"I do expect you to eat it, and you will eat it. You need your nutrition." Edward glanced down at the bowl and tightened his lips into a smile. "I had in mind a delightful dinner for you tonight but your behavior changed that factor. So eat up." I gritted my teeth and put the bowl on the floor as I stood up and walked over to my pile of blankets on the floor.

Edward watched as I slummed down on my blankets and curled myself in them ignoring his orders. I could feel his eyes on me as I turned my back on him to stare at the bare walls. I expected to feel a hard grip on my shoulder or to hear him bark some ruthless threat at me but instead I heard the clanking of a bowl.

I turned around to see what he was doing only to watch him open his trashcan and drop the bowl and spoon in not saving the utensils. I looked at his face to better understand what kind of mood he was in but his face was indifferent to any emotion.

He started to walk slowly over to me, but I turned by back to him and shut my eyes tightly. With a swift tug of my blankets they were ripped from under me as my body flipped over and I landed on my hurt cheek.

I let out a quick cry of pain and I looked up to glare at him. He smiled as he balled up my blankets in his arms and tossed them on the sofa and then sat on them while staring at me with an innocent grin.

I stood up and stomped over to him. His brow furled as I stalked over to him and the pile of blankets he was sitting on. I grabbed the edge of one of the blankets and pulled on it with all my strength.

Edward looked at me with a stare that dripped with amusement and puzzlement. I yanked and tugged at them with all my might until Edward reached out and tugged back yanking the grip that I had out of my hand. I stumbled backwards and landed painfully on my butt with a hard thump.

Edward's lips parted as he bellowed out a loud laugh and sniggered even harder as I stood back up in determination and ran back over to the blankets. I threw my body onto them and then tossed my body back in a hard jerk.

I expected to have to pull a couple times before the blankets would come free, but Edward willing let go of them letting me fling my own body back across the floor landing once again agonizingly on my butt. In my lap I held a pile of blankets that I had managed to capture. But before I could savor my victory they were snatched away from me again.

Edward stuck them back under his body again and stared at me with a taunting glare. I balled my fists up at my sides and squeezed them tightly. I could feel the warmth of my anger spreading across my face. And this only added to Edward's beaming joy.

In a teasing manner Edward tossed me the end of one of the blankets hoping I would try again to seize the blankets away from him only to wine up in another embarrassing failure.

I turned away from him and stomped back over my corner and curled myself into a small ball shutting my eyes tight. He would have no more amusement from me tonight. In the coldness of the night I finally found sleep.

**Edward's Point of view:**

I laid on the blankets which were situated on my small couch and watched her breathing form until it slowed to a soft rhythm. I waited to approach her in order to be sure she was asleep.

I calmly stood up and quietly crept over to her. Since her back was originally faced to me I wanted to get a closer look at her face. I slinked around to her other side and lay my body on the carpet in front of her form.

The breath from her mouth brushed across my face and made me shiver in delight. I reached up impulsively and pulled a strand of her hair that had caught in her lips and placed it behind her ear.

I turned my attention to the bruised cheek and scrunched my face in disappointment with myself. I leaned in close to her face and whispered, "Please try to be patient with me Bella, and know that I'm still learning." I ran my finger lightly across the bandage, "I wish I didn't have to make those mistakes, and I'm sorry you have to see the monster inside of me through them."

I ran my fingers through her hair to brush it back from her face and then stood up to get her some blankets. Her arms were covered in goose bumps from the cold air that was circulating through my room. I placed a few warm blankets on top of her and tried to curl her up in them as much as possible without waking her.

I looked at her sleeping form, and then shook my head. "Why must you be so stubborn all the time? Why can't you give me one small break? Must it always be a fight with you?" I put my hands to my head and slumped down on my sofa. The more time I spent with her the harder it was becoming to get rid of her. It had only been a few days and already I was obsessed with her.

Her face was always in my mind. I breathed out a frustrated huff. What was happening to me? These thoughts kept haunting me every waking hour and because I ceased to sleep there was no rest from them. These thoughts were immoral and against everything I stood for.

But through the wrongness of my own disquieting thoughts I couldn't find it in my cold heart to hate her even in the slightest way. In fact I only felt closer to her and more protective over her. Which in the long run, would not be a good thing for me.

I could not imagine the disappointment on Aro's face if he were to ever figure out that I was starting to accumulate feelings for a human. "I would fight him for her," a part of my mind unconsciously said. I put my hands to my ears and closed my eyes.

Tell me I did not just think that thought. Not only would that be straight suicide but I would be throwing away everything that I've spent my life to get. For her. I looked over to Bella and thought for a moment.

Would I fight for her? Would I throw away everything for her? Would I face a world of permanent death and darkness to save her fragile life?

I lay down on my back and folded my hands on my chest. I didn't want to think about those thoughts any more. Partly because I knew what I would do if it ever came down to a battle to save her life or mine. And I refused to think about those thoughts more than I had to for the moment.

No need to think about something before its time. What I did need to think about was how to buy myself more time with Bella. It wouldn't be long before Aro would start to get suspicious and then start to question my behavior.

And if Aro began to suspect that I had feelings for her he wouldn't hesitate to test his theory in some cruel demeaning way at the risk or hurting or even killing Bella.

I needed to figure out something convincing as to why I haven't done away with her. Perhaps I could take her with me on my next mission. Alice would love the idea, but then again that could backfire on me since she knew better than anyone else. She might see right through my plan and know exactly what I'm up to.

Would she turn me in? Alice was capable of anything, but in all my worries I didn't think she would turn me in. She would be disappointed, but I don't think she would fight me.

Perhaps on my next mission I would take Bella with me, and deliver somewhere safe where she could continue her life in peace. I shook my head. How could I deal with my own selfish desirers? I greedily wanted her only for myself and never wanted her to go.

Pluse there would be no guarantee that Aro would not get suspicious and send someone after her to finish the job I should have done. I put my hands to my head. What was I going to do with this devilish angel that was unexpectedly dropped into my lap?

I was going against everything that made me who I was. I was starting to sympathize with my old and dear friend whom I did away with because of his love for a human.

He did what I would have done.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello yankeerose**: Edward hides his feelings very well from Aro. Edward himself is not really sure about the feelings he's feeling. So yes Aro could read Edward's thoughts about Bella, but Edward sheilds them so well for now.

I felt a soft kick on my back as I jumped from the impact of something unknown. My eyes jolted open as I looked behined me to see what it was the kicked me.

It was none other than Edward. He smiled down at me and then snickered at the glaring look I was giving him on account of him waking me up in such a way.

"It's time to get up sweatheart." He smiled again as he walked off to a shelf and pulled down a small book. He looked through it for a moment before he put it back up and smiled again. "We have to appear in court today. Aro will be expecting us."

I rubbed my eyes on account of the headache that I was getting. I looked around for a clock, but I didn't see one. I woundered what time it was since I still felt so tired and because this place had no windows or any source of light from the outside world there was no way to tell what time of day it was. Normally I was happy to get up in the mornings, but at this particular moment I was dreading geting up. My body felt like it was going to fall over if I tried to get up too fast.

Edward looked at me with a warning glance etched across his face, "I said get up Bella. I will not tell you again. Today is an important day and I will not be late." I yawned and rubbed my eyes again in frusteration. His demanding tone was really getting on my nerves.

I slowly but surely stood up and streached my body with a long reach. I could feel the aches and cracks from my body as I streached from sleeping on a hard floor all night. Edward smirked a little as I scrunched my face in pain from the sorness in my neck. "Perhapse next time, if you are more agreeable, you will be able to sleep more comfortably."

I wanted to punch him in his pretty little mouth for such a demening statment. As far as I was concerned he needed to be put in his place for once. I smiled sarcastically at his face, as I replied, "Its so nice to wake up to someone like you every morning. Tell me, are you an ass hole every day or are you making a special attempt today?" Edward turned around with a feirce look on his face. I knew he was getting mad by the way his muscles were tenseing but speaking my mind was much better than pretending to be someone I wasn't.

Edward came towards me with force and then seized my arm in a tight grip while pulling me close to him till his face was inches from mine. "If you don't get control of that little temper Bella,I will feel no regret in brusing the other side of your pretty face. I would've thought you had learned a small lesson after your disobediant display last night. Now get dressed, and stop wasting my time with your immature behavior."

I tightened my lips in a tight line of defiance and then slightly tried to pull my arm from his grasp. He tightened his grip on my arm till I could feel the blood draining from my arm.

"Do not pull away from me. I will release you when I dismiss you. Now wipe that look off your face this instant Bella. This is not the time, and I will not deal with your stuborn additude today. You will change your demenor this instant or I can tell you this day will not be a pleasent one for you." He waited for a moment while I continued to glare angrily at the ground.

"What does it matter to you how I feel? You clearly don't seem to take my feelings into account with anything you do." I said in a light whisper through gritted teeth.

Edward yanked me closer to him making me yelp from the pain in my arm. "It matters because I will not have a slave acting suprior in my presence. Weather you like it or not, you will know your place, you will respect your place and then you will act according to your place." Without another word Edward dragged me over to the bathroom door, where he opened it and then shoved me inside.

I rubbed the sore spot on my arm but was determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing me in pain. "You now have ten minutes to get dressed and be ready. Your clothes are on the counter and tolietries are in the cabneites. Do not try my patiences any more Bella," he said pointing his index finger in my direction. With that he shut the door leaving me to get ready.

I hated my so called new life. I hated my so called new master. He felt nothing for me and I most certainly felt nothing for him. Why should I care enough to do what he told me to do? Why did he not just kill me and be done with it? It was obvious that I had little if not no respect for him. And I'm sure he could easily find someone else that would bow down to him and be much more obident than me.

I slowly walked over to the wide marble counter and inspected my outfit. My eyes widened a little as I lifted up the material to get a closer look. A strapless peteite red dress. Did he honestly expect me to wear this? I looked it over more throughly. It seemed to be perfect size but at the same time very slinky. Why on earth would he want me to wear something so reveiling?

Sudenly I heard a hard knock on the door, "You have six minutes Bella."

I rolled my eyes and started to take off my night wear. I felt that my life had resorted to nothing but obeying demands. Do this Bella, do that Bella. It was never ending.

I unziped the back of the red dress and stepped into it. The material was comfortable and soft as it slid up my body. It came perfectly up to my chest wear it tightened at the top. It seemed to enhance my breasts and at the same time diminish any sort of cover for my body. It was very if not too tight fitting around the waist and it just barly reached my knees. I tried to pull it down a little but I found my attempt to be compleatly usless when I only had to pull it back up to cover the top part of my body.

I reached behined me and zipped up the back of the dress and then looked in the mirror. To my great surprise and utter astonishment, the dress looked stunning on me. The wavy patterns on the front of the dress swooped into a beautiful designe that made the dress even more amazing when I twisted my body back and forth in the mirror.

The color of the dress was a gorgeous deep red that matched the color of my skin tone and enhanced the natural blush in my cheeks. Well at least the one that wasn't covered up by the small white bandage. I reached up and slowly removed the bandage from my face. Much to my surprise only a tiny faint red spot remained where Edward had smacked me. My face looked much better without the bandage on. I smiled a little as I reached into one of the cabinets for a brush. I squirted a sweet smelling coconut spray on my hair which was the only detangle spray in the bathroom.

I slowly brought the brush through my hair enjoying the sweet aroma of the tropical coconut smell that was working it's way through my hair. I saw the ends of my hair curl as I was finishing up.

I smiled in contentment at my appearance and then quickly jumped at the sound of another knock on the door. "Four minutes Bella." I huffed in frustration again, that was really getting annoying.

I searched through the cabinets and found a small tooth brush that had not been opened and a large tube of Crest tooth past. I brushed my teeth quickly and then after washed my face with the cool fresh water. With a hurried rush I sprinted over to the toilet as I realized that that should have been the first thing I did.

I quickly did my business and barley got off the toilet and in to a standing position as Edward swung the door open with force. "Times up," he said while watching me pull down my dress in a frantic manner. He smiled at me as I chose to ignore his presence while I flushed and then walked calmly over to the sink to wash my hands.

Once finished Edward grinned as he looked over my appearance. I felt like I was in the army and Edward was my drill sergeant who was slowly inspecting every inch of my body. Edward's eyes started at the bottom and then slowly worked their way up until he met my eyes.

With a smirk he twirled his index finger around, "spin around." I did a quick full circle spin to which Edward gave me an irritated glance and then twirled his finger again, "Spin slowly. And put your arms up in the air." With a short huff I raised my arms up and slowly took steps in a circle. Edward smiled in satisfaction, "very good. I find the color compliments your complexion nicely. Do you like it?" Of course I did but I wasn't going to express my true feelings to him.

I looked down at my dress and then back at him. "It's a little short and a little tight," I said touching the sides of my body. Edward grinned a little more as he chuckled lightly.

"It's perfect. The length is as it should be, and the fitting compliments your figure nicely." My eyes widened a little and I looked away in an irritated sigh.

"Why do you ask my opinion and then not take it?"

"I did take it, in to consideration, I just don't agree with it." Edward walked up to me and ran his fingers slowly through my hair. My back arched away from him as he leaned down and put his nose to my hair. "Delightful," he said placing his hand in the arch of my back and pulling me forward again. "Don't pull away from me again." His tone was not angry instead it was composed and gentle.

His eyes lingered on mine for a moment until I nodded in obedience. Smiled as he cupped my chin in his hand, "now you're learning Bella. Only one thing is missing." Edward left for a moment and then returned with a pair of red open toed high heels. I scrunched my face at the sight of heel heels. I never was good at walking in them; they always somehow managed to make me fall flat on my face and humiliate me in crowds.

Edward placed them on the floor and motioned for me to step in them. To my dismay I hesitantly bent forward and slipped my feet in them. I tripped a little as I stood on the incredibly high heels. Edward smirked as he grasped my arm and put it around his. I felt Edward was more holding me up than my own body was. When he walked I felt able to walk steadily but without him I knew I would surly fall. We walked out of the bathroom and then out of his corridor to the hallway entrance. It was only at this moment that I actually looked at what Edward himself was wearing.

He wore an elegant pair of black slacks with a black thin long sleeved shirt. With my arm wrapped around his, I could feel the smooth light material beneath my arm. It felt like pure authentic silk that was crafted exceptionally well.

As we walked down the long hall way I watched as we passed Aro's office, which is where he had taken me the first time out of his room. We then pasted the swirl of stone stairs where I knew led down to a cold dungeon area. I felt shivers go up my spine as I remembered when Edward had put me down there for my punishment. As much as I liked embarrassing Edward, I didn't want to go back to that dark cold place.

I quickly looked away for fear that Edward would think that punishment had too much effect on me. If he knew how much I hated that dark place he would surly send me there every time I refused to obey him. Or at least he would threaten me with it every chance he got.

As we continued to make our way to court as Edward had called it, I started to notice other stylishly dressed couples. The men were in black and the women in red. I had never seen so many different styles of red dresses in one spot.

However what startled me the most was the different skin tones of some. Some of the women had pale skin like Edward's with male companions with standard "human" complexions by their sides. I also saw some men with pale skin that had female companions by their sides with normal skin tone. Some couples looked like Edward and I, others were reversed when it came to gender. I wondered why there were some that looked like me and some that looked like Edward.

Perhaps the ones that looked like me were slaves as well; in the same situation as I. I made eye contact with a man whose skin tone was the same as mine but instead of smiling he quickly put his head down and continued to walk slowly behind the pale faced female in front of him.

Edward looked at me and then continued to pull me along leading me into an enormous open room where everybody seemed to be gathered. The room was decorated with the imperial colors of gold and red. From the high ceiling above hung a wide astonishing beautiful crystal chandelier that glistened from the lighting in the room. My mouth opened a little as I took in the breathtaking sight of so many dressed so elegantly formal.

The ones with pale faces also had red eyes just like Edward and the ones with a normal complexions had many different color eyes. I jugged these ones to be human like myself.

As I listened I could hear the countless conversing of the many different voices in the room. Because I decided not to focus on one voice, the conglomerate voices all blurred together in a wave.

I jumped as I heard a very familiar deep voice above all others behind me echo Edward's name. Edward immediately turned around and then smiled with respect at the recognizable man that was approaching us.

"Edward," he said again in admiration while holding out his hands in a welcoming fashion. "I'm so pleased you could make it."

"I'm honored Aro," Edward said bowing his head slightly. I remembered Aro being the one whom I met the day. Edward seemed to look upon this creature with so much respect and honor that he willingly punished me when I had apparently embarrassed him in this man's presence.

My eye caught the attention of something small moving by Aro's side. When I looked closer I saw a small petite woman who looked a few years older than me peek from around his shoulder. She had bright green eyes with jet black shoulder length hair to which Aro nonchalantly ran his fingers through.

_She must be a slave as I am. _

She giggled as he slipped a strand of her hair behind her ear tickling the little hairs on her neck. Aro smiled somewhat at her and then turned his concentration back to Edward.

"A pity you did not attend the last ceremony, we would have liked to have had you with us in the high courts. Yet I know you were busy with a mission at the time." Edward nodded his head and then smiled.

Aro suddenly took notice of me and turned his attention towards me. His intense eyes locked on mine and made me feel uneasy as he looked me up and down just as Edward had done earlier during _his_ inspection. "I see you have kept my present. And what a lovely dress you've picked for her. It complements her features so well" Aro continued to gaze into my eyes and then with a frustrated look turned to Edward. "Such a fine companion if she was well trained. I see you certainly have your work cut out for you."

"She will be well disciplined when I'm finished with her."

"I have the utmost confidence in you Edward. Believe me; I have no doubt that you will put her in her place where she belongs." Edward nodded like a good solider and then slightly turned to look at me, but not all the way.

Aro eyes locked back onto mine and with an eerie silence bore in to them with such a powerful stare that I slowly lowered my head away from his gaze. I heard Aro chuckle and then clap his hands together, "well at least she's tamable Edward." Aro then cupped my chin and with his thumb stroked the side of my cheek, "good girl."

I saw the woman by his side give me a jealous evil glare as Aro continued to rub the side of my cheek in a compassionate way.

Why she would get jealous of such a thing was beyond me in every way. All I could feel were my insides churning at his touch to my skin.

It made me feel sick to my stomach the way he treated me like I was a dog who just did something commendable. I looked down at his pale hand that held my chin captive and glowered at it with intense anger. My next action was to yank my chin from his grasp but suddenly as if he already anticipated my movement Aro tightened his grip around my jaw with such force I felt he would squeeze my face in two.

"I do not think that would be a very wise move on your part little one."

I could neither turn nor even move my head on account of the death grip Aro had on my face. My eyes slowly moved to look at Edward from the corner of my eye but I could not see the true emotion on his face. Although I'm sure it was anger or disappointment at my behavior.

As other couples pasted by I could see them giggling and smirking at the situation that I had found myself in. No doubt Edward was embarrassed at the circumstance as well.

I struggled to keep a straight face as I could feel the blood pulsing through my cheeks from the pressure. After a little while, Aro laugh quietly as he slowly loosened his grip on my cheeks and then finally released me. However once I was released Aro still continued to stare at me with disapproval.

Edward looked pathetically at Aro as he seized my arm in a painful iron grip. "Aro, please except my deepest apologies for Bella's vulgar behavior. And if you will permit it, I'd like a few moments with her alone." Edward's voice seemed to carry a brutal tone as he spoke of having a few moments alone with me.

Regrettably I put my head down slightly. I knew I was really in for it this time.

My discomfort made Aro smile as he waved his hand in a graceful manor. "Certainly, although I hope this moment with your little one will not take you away too long. I do wish for you to join me in a discussion this evening."

"I assure you it will only take but a brief moment." Aro nodded with a smile and then put his arm around the young woman that was standing obediently silent beside him.

"Very well. Do what you must." Aro smiled down at me one last time as emotions of panic began to take hold of me. "I do hope our next encounter little one will be a more pleasant one. Your behavior was quite disappointing."

With that he walked off with poise along with the beautiful woman by his side who seemed to be in a better mood now that Aro was no longer pleased with me.

I saw onlookers smirking and laughing as Edward grabbed my arm and dragged me across the room out of a side door exit.

Once outside Edward quickly sized hold of both my arms and then painfully slammed them against the wall pinning me up and making my back ache from the loud impact.

With one hand he held both my arms up against the scratchy wall, my feet dangling below me, and with the other hand he raised getting ready to smack me hard. I saw it coming with a vengeance. In a swift movement I let out a low whimper as I closed my eyes tightly and turned away preparing myself for the pain.

Yet when there was no pain I slowly opened my eyes only to find that Edward had stopped before he could complete his cruel action. His eyes were filled with pure anger which made me now regret what I had done. There was no escaping his punishment now.

"I shall make you suffer for this," he said in a menacingly deep bone chilling voice. "I warned you Bella. It is one thing to disrespect me in private, but to show such disrespect to Aro not only humiliated me in front of him, again, but also the entire gathering."

All I could do was stare into his anger filled eyes and not try to annoy him any more than I already had.

After a few moments of silence, Edward, with his free hand, reached around and put his hand on the arch of my back. I glanced down to see what he was doing but instead of it becoming clear to me, I let out a loud scream of pain as something felt like it was burning through the back of me.

I felt like a knife was slowly digging its way through my back into my insides. It twisted and dug deeper and deeper until I was pleading for him to stop. I could feel the tears of pain streaming down my face and the beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead.

"Edward, please," I said biting my lip in pain. "Please stop." I had never felt pain like this before. This knife in my back kept inching deeper and deeper but it would not do me the favor of killing me thus putting me out of my misery. I felt no blood, just the surging pain of fire burning on my back as Edward continued to listen to my cries of torture.

My body began to squirm at the hope of easing the soreness, but that only made the pain much worse. Edward smirked as he finally jerked the sharp object from my back letting my knees buckle and slid me defenselessly into his arms.

The pain was gone but my breath came out in rapid bursts of air as I tried to regain control of my senses. Edward let me linger in his arms for a moment until my heart slowed to its normal rhythmic pattern. Only then did he lift me up and speak to me.

"I would have slapped you Bella, but a slap was not sufficient enough for the pain I wanted you to feel. The amount of pain you felt does not even equal the amount of fury I felt towards you." The world was slowly staring to become clear as I listened to Edward's voice in my ear.

My energy felt so completely drained from the surging pain and screaming that Edward had caused.

"Now I expect you to behave yourself, especially around Aro. And you will also apologize to him personally for your unacceptable rude behavior. I will not tolerate anymore of your immature, disgustingly obscene traits. I want strict obedience. And mark my words Bella, if I do not see a change within you when we return I shall torment you in a hell far worse then what you just experienced. Now do we have an understanding of one another?"

I nodded instantly at these words trying not to show any trace of the irritation I was feeling. Edward shook my body, "answer me."

"Yes," I said in a low voice while clearing my throat a little before I whispered in an even lower voice, "master."

Edward straightened his body a little taller as he smiled in contentment. "Good."

And after another moment Edward lifted me to my feet and put his arm around my shoulders. With his strength completely supporting me I was able to walk to the door where we had first exited.

Edward opened the door and helped me inside the grand room again. I felt like a disobedient child who just received a painful spanking from their parent. I could feel my tale between my legs as I looked around in embarrassment. But instead of seeing everyone standing around in conversation I saw that they were all heading off into another room of assembly.

Edward looked at where all others were gathering and then pulled me along in the same direction. Like a good dog I complied obediently as he was my only source of strength at the moment. Moreover the terrible height of my heels made my legs quiver and shake with uneasiness.

I saw Edward smile down at me slightly at my absolute submission and then rubbed my shoulders. "Good girl," he whispered to me, "perhaps this night can be saved after all." I said nothing to this as we entered what appeared to be a large dinning room for all to partake of a large feast.

All seemed to know where they were to sit as if it were all arranged in advance. Edward led the way to a seat near one of the ends of the table where I saw Aro sitting in company with the woman he had been with earlier.

Aro smiled at me as Edward pulled out a chair and set me down in it like a small child. I looked down instantly as his gaze met my eyes. I sincerely did not wish to have another agonizing punishment from Edward. Not tonight.

I heard Aro let out a strong laugh of astonishment and he put a hand on Edward's shoulder like a proud father. "My Edward, what a transformation. And that only took a moment. Just imagine what you can do with a few months of training."

"I intend to maintain her training. Especially since I now know what works," he said looking over at me with a grin on his face. Aro lifted his brow, and smiled deviously.

"Oh," he said in a secretive manor, "perhaps when we are in private you can tell me your little secret. I should very much like to know what you did in a moment's absence to tame one with such a fiery temper."

I struggled against my will to glare at them for talking about me in such a way. As if I were some type of wild animal that was beaten into submission.

Aro grinned at me before he stood up and gathered the attention in the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my humble guests welcome to the anniversary of our noble beginnings." A loud echo of clapping sounded throughout the room as some stood up and cheered and then calmly took their place again.

"I am so pleased to see so many faithful and familiar faces each and every year. In fact every face I see there is a worthy memorable experience. Remember, tonight, everyone is a guest and good friend. So please, enjoy the refreshments, enjoy this enchanted evening, and remember what a privilege we have to be gathered together to celebrate this remarkable event!"

Another loud roar of clapping sounded through the room making it sound like a running waterfall. The room was filled with joyous cheering for a good long moment before everyone again took their seats and began to converse among themselves.

Aro sat at the every end of the table, while Edward sat to Aro's right, me to Edward's right and Aro's young slave to the left of him.

I looked around for all the humans but they were nowhere to be seen. I wondered if Aro's slave and I were the only humans among the pale ones.

A glass of dark red liquid was placed between me and Edward by a passing waiter. I looked the waiter who was in fact a human carrying a full tray of the same refreshments. I looked at the wine glass that was filled with this red drink and lifted my hand up to better clarify what it was.

Edward grabbed the glass before I could get a decent look and then took a sip. He pushed a glass of water that was already on the table near me and smiled. "This is yours," he said. He then lifted the glass of red liquid and smiled again, "and this is mine."

"Won't you let her try some Edward? I'm sure she won't like it." Edward and Aro both chuckled a little as they continued to drink the red liquid.

I looked across from me at Aro's salve who was already obediently drinking her water with satisfaction. She seemed more like a step ford slave than a regular human slave. Was that my future? I crumpled my face in disgust as I grabbed my water and took a sip. I hoped I would never become that submissively pitiful.

Interrupting my thoughts, a plate of food was swiftly placed in front of me as well as Aro's slave. Aro smiled at his slave and gracefully massaged the top of her head. "Eat up; I'm sure it is delicious."

I looked at Edward and then down at the food. Edward's smile widened, "you can eat Bella." I looked at him wondering if he wanted any, to which he shook his head with an amused smile on his lips. "I'm not hungry. I wish you to eat what you can. You must be hungry."

I was actually very hungry. I had not eaten a proper meal since my being kidnapped to this place. And the smell of the food made my stomach growl and my mouth water with anticipation. When I looked down at the food in front of me I was even more delighted at the appearance of the food set before me. Elegantly arranged on the plate in front of me was a magnificent pasta dish.

The noodles were a thin type of noodle glazed with a lemon and garlic smelling sauce with a pinch of rosemary and basil sprinkled on the top. Also enclosed and wrapped in the noodles were little chunks of chicken lightly grilled to a bronze color, along with buttery heads of broccoli.

I was amazed that Edward was not eating such a breathtaking, mouth watering meal, but at the same time I was also a little too hungry to care. I once again looked at the girl across from me and watched as she gracefully twirled the noodles on her fork and in one perfect bite at a time ate flawlessly the same meal that was set before her.

I doubt I could do as good of a job as she had in eating her meal perfectly, but I would try. I took my fork and spoon and used my very limited skills to twirl the noodles as she had. But in a failed attempt to copy her, the noodles quickly unraveled in a slippery saucy mess that flipped everywhere as I tried to get it all into my mouth.

Aro's slave let a laugh slip from beneath her breath as she watched my poor attempt to copy her go to pieces. It was at that moment that I wondered if she knew I had been watching her from the beginning. She must have.

Aro too smiled at my failed attempt. However I shuttered to look in the direction of Edward. Would he be yet again livid with me?

When I glanced at him he was grinning from ear to ear in an adoring way. I let a breath of relief as I was glad he was not angry. I did not want to endure another one of those punishments again.

Aro put his hand around his slave and chuckled. "I've forgotten to introduce you two to each other." I looked up slightly at Aro's slave and then questioned inside myself if she was someone I even wanted to know.

"Bella, this is my pet Lisa Prons. Lisa," Aro said looking down at her, "this is Isabella Swan, over wise known as Bella, Edward's new pet. I hope you two will get to know each other better. And with any luck become good companions for each other. I am convinced that friendship is the most important factor when trying to adjust to a new life style."

Lisa looked up at Aro, "I should love to be great friends master. Must you keep reading my mind?" Aro smiled again and nodded. To this she smiled at me before returning to her food once again.

Aro looked at me to which I put my head down again and ran my fork through my food. "I would like that too," I mumbled just slightly above a whisper.

"Excellent," Aro said looking at Edward. "Looks like we'll have to schedule a play date Edward."

"Indeed," Edward said taking another sip of his drink. Edward and Aro continued to sip slowly their drinks and talk about unknown concepts while Lisa and I ate silently.

My portion of food was so huge I could not bear to finish it all. Although Edward did say he only wished for me to eat what I could. And with that thought in mind I slowly put my fork and spoon down and picked up my napkin to wipe my hands.

Lisa too appeared to be finished with her food as she lifted a napkin from under the table where it must have been laying across her lap, to lightly dap her lips. She smiled at me and then pushed her plate away from her slightly.

Aro looked at Lisa and then put his hand around her waist pulling her close to his body. "Are you finished my pet?" She nodded slowly.

"Yes Master, the food was delightful, and I rather enjoyed the company of Bella," she said smiling at me. I looked away in confusion. I didn't understand how she could enjoy the company of someone she didn't talk to or even barley looked at through the entire meal.

Edward glanced down at my plate of half eaten food and smiled. "I trust then you too have eaten your full?" I nodded and then half smiled.

"It was good," I said looking around the big auditorium of people. I saw Edward and Aro look at each other and then smile at my difference in behavior. Aro then decided to take it upon himself to say something about my change in demeanor.

"Bella, I find your change in personality to be completely enjoyable. What a delight you are to be around now that Edward and you had your little talk. I hope you will continue this new behavior in times to come." I didn't look Aro in the face but just simply nodded once.

I reached for my glass of water to take another sip but then accidently dropped my fork off the side of the table. With a loud clanking noise it fell to the floor earning a moment's attention of a few close neighbors before they went back to their discussions. I slowly gave Edward a glance, to see his reaction only to find that he was not even looking my direction. In fact he gave no indication that he even took notice of the fact that I had just made another error.

Edward and Aro were just looking at each other, as if they were speaking to one another and could understand each other through their eyes. I took this as a good sign and opportunity to quickly pick up my fork and pretend like it never happened.

I slowly bent down and looked beneath the table for my lost fork but instead gasped at the sight that lay before me. Underneath the table were countless humans sitting at the feet of their masters and mistresses.

_So that's where they all went _I thought to myself.

One looked at me and smiled a little as he quickly devoured a particle of food that was handed down to him from the table.

He looked back at me and smirked again. I tried to smile but all I could do was stare in horror at how these lowly humans were being treated. A instant later I felt a tap on my back as Edward leaned over, "Bella, please sit up." I grabbed my fork and lifted up with a look of repulsion.

Aro looked at my face and then turned to Edward who too was looking at my face. "There are people down there," I said in a low voice to Edward. A look of relief washed over Edward's face as he looked at Aro and then the two of them shared in a light chuckle.

"There are always people down there Bella."

"Why? Why are they not even dignified with a chair to sit on? Why do they not have food?"

Edward smiled at me as if I were a young native child who didn't know any better. "Bella, they are non other than slaves. They have masters just like you do. Although one can not tell another how to treat his or her property while still remaining on good grounds with them. Slaves are personal property, and their masters may treat them how they please."

I tried to understand Edward's logic but it didn't seem to make any sense to me. I still didn't understand how others were allowed to treat their humans with such brutality.

"Normally the floor or underneath the table is the proper thing to do when at a formal gathering. Slaves are not to be seen or heard unless called upon," Aro said with a reassuring smile. "However I personally to not wish Lisa to sit on the floor where it's dirty and where she would be most unhappy." Lisa looked at Aro and smiled in agreement.

Edward looked down at me and smirked, "and I personally would have had you sit by my feet and fed you dinner like the rest, but since you've been such a pleasure to be around I decided to reward you with a little treat." I looked at my surroundings again and then back at Edward who was still smiling at me. "Yes Bella, it is a treat for a human to sit at the table."

Aro laughed at my face of shock and disgust. "No doubt there a lot of new rules for you to learn Bella, which is why I'm sure the friendship between you and Lisa will prove most beneficial and enjoyable." I looked at Aro for a moment before turning my attention to the fiddling of my hands in my lap.

The room was still buzzing about with the sounds of different conversations about different subjects. And just like the dinner began Aro stood up from his seat and claimed the instant attention of the guests.

Aro raised his hands and then bowed fashionably. "Ladies and gentlemen, it has been an enchanted evening so far has it not?"

Like a loud crashing wave, everyone clapped their hands together in agreement and some whistled from across them room. "Well do not be discouraged my fellow friends, the night is still young, and there is plenty more to come. The ball room shall be open to any of my attendants for some complementary dance and orchestra. My doors are open for as long as you'll all stay tonight. As for me, I regretfully will retire to my camber for the night, but please drink, drink and be marry."

Everyone cheered and applauded their hands in an even louder wave. Like a waterfall that was sounding out with a loud thundering noise. Aro motioned for Edward to join him to which Edward looked at me to follow.

As Aro bowed one last time the crowed continued to give a round of applause and cheer giving him a standing ovation as he, Lisa, Edward and I exited the large dinning room. I could hear the clapping slowly dying down in the background as Aro was leading the way to his chamber. I found it weird that they continued to applaud even though Aro was no longer in the room.

It was slowly dawning on me how important Aro was to this new world that I was in.

We continued down a long torch lit hallway until we came to two elegantly wooden carved doors with a key lock in the middle of them. Aro unlocked the doors and swung them open. Lisa followed behind Edward who was the second one to enter and I followed last, quietly shutting the doors behind me.

The room was dimly lit just like Edward's was; only this room was far grander. The room was made of the colors of deep reds and gold. It was the color of a light honey comb gold that made the room feel so inviting and warm.

On one side of the room there bookshelves that lined the walls and were organized and orderly arranged. There was not one book, it seemed, that was out of place.

To the side of the bookshelves was a set of two more double doors that led to the bathroom area which I'm sure was just as magnificent and out of this world. In the middle of the room was one large king size bed that had bed spreads that looked similar to the Indian culture. The blankets that covered the bed had different squares of red in them with gold fringes that hung from the sides. The pillows were long and covered more than the top half of bed. I couldn't help how appealing the bed looked to sleep in. For some reason I was incredibly exhausted.

I knew it was in vain to look for a clock since I could never find one. I did not know if it was day or night. But since I just had 'dinner' I assumed it was night time.

It was weird that Edward would wake me up at night to have dinner when I thought it was morning. This meant that when I first went to sleep, it must have been day time. This explains why I had such a hard time sleeping and now that it was night time I was very tired.

As I continued to look around the room my eye caught sight of a glowing light that lit the further end of the room. It was a small glowing fire that looked not only inviting, but also made me even more tired the more I continued to stare at it. There were two chairs stationed next to the fire place to which Aro and Edward both took their seat.

I followed Lisa as she went to take a place on the floor next to Aro, but instead _I_ took _my_ seat next to Edward. It felt so demeaning to sit on the floor but not at all uncomfortable. The carpet was so soft and alluring that I found myself closing my eyes more and more frequently while running my fingers though it.

Edward and Aro were no longer speaking in English. They spoke in a strange language that I had neither heard nor understood. At first they chatted like two old friends who had not seen each other in years.

Every once in a while Edward and Aro would glance down at me and then chuckle lightly. Of course I knew they were talking about me; and that was the only thing that managed to keep me awake.

In an instant Edward turned his attention to me. "Bella, I hope that you will not forget tonight's events. I am pleased you are being so well mannered, but I also desire you to address Aro properly and apologize for your behavior earlier."

I felt my heart sink in as a great nervousness over took me. I lifted my head slowly to Aro's eyes as I then quickly turned away. I wasn't sure exactly what the proper way to apologize was, but I didn't want Edward to take me out for another punishment.

I turned to Edward to any type of direction on how to address Aro properly, but instead of giving me any instruction he just simply raised his eye brow and motioned for me obey.

I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly. I stood up and walked up to Aro with my head down casted. _I hope I'm doing this right._

"Please forgive me for my," I thought for a moment not want to demean myself too much. "Please forgive me," I repeated, "for my rude behavior earlier this evening. It was not my intention to offend you."

"And?" Edward said quietly wanting me to say more. Although I wasn't sure what to say next. My eyes scanned the floor as I tried to find my next words.

"And," I said in a drawn out fashion, "I will try hard next time to maintain my temper."

"What else?" Edward said again. Now I was really out of things to say.

I heard a light chuckle come from Aro as he stood up. "Don't make the poor girl beg Edward." Aro put his hand under my chin and lifted it slightly until our eyes met. "You have my forgiveness little one."

His hand dropped from my chin as he took his seat and waved his hand for me to return to Edward.

When I took my seat again Edward looked pleased and then continued his discussion with Aro as if nothing had happened.

When their conversation turned serious, their expressions changed as they were talking in a monotone sort of way. I closed my eyes in my upward sitting position trying my hardest not to fall asleep. I didn't know what Edward's reaction would be.

My closed eyes immediately and then jolted open when Aro had tapped on my shoulder and invited me to remove my shoes if it would be more comfortable. I thought about it for a moment and then turned to Edward. Edward looked indifferent to the matter so I gladly took them off and sighed in relief at the satisfaction and freedom that came with the removal of my high heels.

Aro at this time also told Lisa she could go bathe and change her clothes from the night's events. "You may sleep in the back room when you are done bathing. Be as quiet as you can and under no circumstances are you permitted to disturb us. I will come to you when Edward and I are finished with our discussion."

"Yes master, and thank you." she said getting up from her sitting position and slowing walking off. There was a back room too? I couldn't believe there was still more I hadn't seen.

Aro waited until she was out of sight before he then looked at me. At first I thought Edward would tell me to go wait outside until they were done with their conversation. It was obvious they wanted to be alone for their chat but instead of telling me to leave Edward continued their conversation in the strange language that they were speaking before.

Aro and Edward went back in forth in a low voice that only made me start falling back asleep. My eye lids started to feel heavier and heavier the further they got into their intense discussion. My head felt like a weighty burden on my shoulders that felt as if it would roll off any minute.

I felt a cold hand reach down and touch my head. My eyes opened in alarm at this action. I thought I was in trouble again for almost falling asleep, but instead of Edward's punishing hand; he began to run his fingers through my hair. He scratched lightly and massaged the back of my scalp with his hand in such a relaxing way I couldn't help leaning forward and laying my head on the side of his leg.

Yes, I felt like a dog that was having that one special spot scratched as I closed my eyes and was slowly falling fast asleep. Every so often he would run his fingers completely through my hair and then continue massaging and stroking my scalp as he conversed back and forth with Aro.

Edward seemed to be fine with the fact that I was falling asleep, because never once did he scold me for closing my eyes or laying my head against his leg. He would simply just grin at me and then turn his attention back to Aro. Perhaps it _was _his plan for me to fall asleep that way he and Aro would be able to have their chat in private.

After a while of massaging, I felt my body slowly slide off of Edward's leg and onto the warm soft carpet. The carpet had the faint smell of mint which relaxed my body. I curled my legs up to my chest as best I could while still being in a dress, then let myself doze off the sounds of their low voices and the crackling of the slow burning fire.

**Saying of the day: Remember, don't build a bridge to get over something, and then stand looking at the water passing under it.**


	9. Chapter 9

Edward's point of view:

I looked down at Bella's sleeping form and smirked. She had fallen into a deep sleep as I hopped she would, after all it was nighttime on her clock. My eyes met Aro's as I struggled to pull them away from the curves and attractions of her body.

"She is a magnificent gift is she not? I take it by her still being alive that you too agree with that statement?" I thought for a moment and tried to put my feelings for her in an indifferent tone of voice.

"I find that she is adequate." Aro chuckled vigorously as he turned his gaze towards the sleeping Bella that lay beside my feet on the carpet. To my discomfort and irritation he took his time in staring at the young beauty and then smiled a wide grin.

"Try not to be so serious and indifferent Edward," he said, his gaze still plastered on Bella. "She is a quite beautiful in form. And I hope you will not forget that she is indeed a woman. She may have a fiery temper and rebellious attitude, however I wish you would not try so hard to hide that those are the qualities you like most about her. You forget how well I know you, my friend. She is unlike any gift you've ever received and no doubt you will enjoy getting to know her better."

Aro raised his gaze from Bella back up to mine with a smirk playing on his lips. "I can only hope that she will succeed in giving you some satisfaction." I tightened my lips at the thoughts that flooded into my head. I stole a quick glace at Bella as she murmured something in her slumber, trying to suppress the emotions that were coursing through my body.

My fists tightened. "My next mission," I said in a raspy and strained voice. I cleared my throat a little before repeating myself in a more composed tone. "I wish to discus the details of my next mission." Aro put his hand to his chin rubbing it a little as an intrigued smile covered his lips. He knew his plan to see if I held any emotion for the young, attractive slave had worked perfectly. He knowingly brought images and pictures into my mind that caused me to shutter and even stutter in want.

Noticing my quick change of the subject Aro folded his hands into his lap as he leaned back in his chair, "of course." He turned to his left and pulled out a white folder containing documents which would hold all the information I needed to complete my next mission. He looked through them for a moment before handing the folder to me. I took it quickly and started looking through the folder reading quickly the information provided; anything to get the previous thoughts out of my head.

"I thought this mission would be—Master?" a voice chimed in. Aro and I both looked instantly up to see who the voice belonged to, however given that Bella was still asleep it could only be from Aro's slave Lisa. Aro's eyes had already locked with hers holding only fury.

"Did I not demand undisturbed privacy Lisa?" Aro's voice thundered causing Bella to stir and wake with a jolt from her doze. Lisa put her head down a little in nervousness and stumbled over a jumble of words. "Come closer this instant," he growled. Lisa stumbled over past me as she stood in front of Aro with her hands folded behind her back as if she was a young child about to undergo the pains of a terrible punishment.

Bella looked dazed and confused as she struggled to put the pieces of the situation before her together. She then looked in my direction for any hint or clue to explain the livid expression on Aro's face, although I chose not to look in her direction for the sake of not wanting to interrupt Aro's conversation with Lisa.

"I require an explanation for your rudeness this moment Lisa, and for your sake I hope it is creditable enough to avoid a beating."

"I-I thought you might like to know that a telegram was just sent to your door and-"

"And this couldn't wait until after my discussion even after me telling you I wanted strict privacy. Haven't I taught you better?"

Although Lisa stood shaking before Aro, he slowly rose from his chair towering above her. In a quick instant Aro brought a striking blow to her face causing her grasp her cheek and stumble back in pain.

I heard Bella's breath catch in her throat as her movements suggested she intended to help Lisa. However before she could make a move I grabbed her arm and shook my head in with a warning gaze. Her eyes were wide with panic and confusion at the same time as she struggled a little to ease my grip. See Aro approach Lisa's pitiful form froze Bella in her place as she gave up the fight to see what would happen next.

I could hear Lisa's quivering sobs as she held her reddened cheek. "Be silent," Aro snarled while pulling her to her feet. Silence filled the quite room as Lisa instantly tried to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. "Apologize to Edward for your rudeness," he said while dragging her small limp form over to where I sat.

In a hic-up tone she opened her mouth slowly, "I'm sorry Master Cullen." I nodded once and tuned to see Bella's frightened face of shock. I smirked a little at her uneasiness to see such cruelty. Perhaps this was good for her witness.

Aro scrunched Lisa's face and turned it towards himself, "and now you will apologize to me." With tears gushing from her eyes she mumbled out an apology that seemed incomprehensible but Aro seemed to understand it and for the moment was satisfied. "Be silent Lisa and stop sniffling before me." Her body shook as she struggled once again to stop the tears.

Aro turned his gaze in my direction as the expression on his face held an apology. "Please excuse me for a moment," he said taking his leave with the frightened Lisa by his side.

In hearing the soft click of the door to the room Lisa was yanked in, I fixed my eyes on the horrified looking Bella with a smirk. I was glad she was awake to observe the punishment. She shook her head as she looked at me with eyes filled with questions.

"Why did he do that to her?" She asked in such anguish as if she was the one that was punished. I smiled even wider at the unusually amusing effect it was having on her.

"She was disobedient," I said in an uncaring tone. I observed her face for any hint of emotion as she contemplated the scene that had taken place in front of her. With any hope, I thought, this would help me in my endeavor to tame her in her stubbornness and constant rebellious behavior.

"He didn't have to be so cruel," she whispered. I laughed a little at this remark, which caused her to instantly whip around in anger.

"He excised mercy."

"How can you call that mercy?" she said in such passion, I couldn't help the chuckle that was resurfacing which only seemed to irritate her more.

"There was more that could've been done, however due to the kindness of his heart he didn't. And you would do well to learn from such a display. For if it wasn't for the kindness of heart and exercising mercy, you would not be alive either, Miss Isabella. She seemed a little taken aback by me using her full name; however I personally liked the way it sounded coming from my mouth.

The footsteps of Aro could once again be heard as he calmly walked out of the backroom where he had taken Lisa. Oddly enough he looked relived and satisfied as he let out a long sigh while taking his seat across me again. He looked at the folder that was still in my hands as it was before he took his leave, and then glanced down at the irritated and confused Bella that now was fully awake. "My sincere apologies Edward. She will not trouble us again. Nevertheless, I do believe that this conversation should be carried on another time."

I could tell Aro was embarrassed from the previous events, and I also knew he did not want to discuss private matters in front of Bella. Yet instead of asking her to leave he kindly decided to settle on another time and place.

"I agree," I said motioning for Bella to stand. She stood quicker than I thought as she still continued to look at Aro as if he were a monstrous villain.

Standing, Aro pointed at the folder in my hands, "Keep the folder, and review the information in them so that later we may discuss in better conditions the details."

"I will," I said in a determined voice. Bella marched closely behind me as I made my way to the door, while Aro accompanied me at my side in silence. He unlocked the door for me and bowed slightly in respect as I exited.

"May we meet in better settings the next time," he said smiling a little. I returned the smile and nodded in agreement. His eyes next traveled to Bella who was standing slightly behind me. "Sleep well; I truly enjoyed your company tonight." Although it was clear this was a compliment, she made not effort to express any gratitude.

I turned by gaze to her with a warning glare. She seemed to catch on to my annoyance as she bowed her heard a little, "Thank you Master Aro." Aro laugh quietly as he bid me one last nod of respect before shutting the door.

Without looking at Bella I turned around and started the march to my room. She would be punished for her defiant and irritating behavior. I was sick of dealing with her constant rebelliousness. It was unacceptable.

I could hear the soft patter of her feet as she struggled to keep up with my fast pace in her heels. However this did not make me slow my speed in the least. All I could think about was what punishment I would give to her and how I would make her suffer and feel humiliated as she had done to me.

As much as I tried to think nothing would come. It wasn't like I could smash her through a wall or punch her anywhere on her body. No, this punishment had to wound her on the inside, not the outside. As I slide my key into its lock I heard Bella's voice from behind me.

"I think Aro is a monster, and if you agree with what he did then that makes you a monster as well." My fingers froze in their spot as I contemplated her words. And then suddenly with a devious smile I realized I had thought of the perfect punishment.

I turned the key the rest of the way and opened the door to my room, letting her enter first. "You have no idea the trueness of those words Bella," I whispered in her ear as she passed by me. The cunning and craftiness of my voice seemed to catch her instant attention as she whirled around trying to hide the panic that had latched onto her. She tried to hide it with her body but she could not hide it in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" She asked in a fearful voice.

Although ignoring the question, I smiled at her. "I warned you not to play with me. Tonight you have succeeded in embarrassing me and humiliating me in front of one of my most well respected friends. So," I said inching closer to her, "I will in turn embarrass you and humiliate you. And I will make you feel the same shame that you have made me feel."

I could hear her heart pumping rapidly as she started backing away slowly while shaking her head. "Please," she whispered, "I'm sorry," she whimpered out.

"No," I said shaking my head. "First you will experience the shame and humiliation that I did. Then, Bella, you can look me in the eyes and truly apologize."

Her eyes stayed locked onto mine as she continued to back away and in an instant suddenly losing her balance as she stumbled and landed on her back. I grinned as she looked like a petrified little rabbit with no escape. She used her hands to slide backwards and I continued my advancement towards her.

Only when she hit the back wall did she stop and stare at me in frozen fear. In a way I felt bad. I didn't want to terrify her to the point of passing out, just enough for her to show more respect. Yet at the moment I just wanted to have fun with it.

"Bella," I said still smiling, "you will give me your clothes." She immediately looked at me as if I had stabbed her.

"What?" she said.

"Take off your clothes. And when you have proven to be that you can behave yourself, you will get them back. But not a moment before." I literary had to hold back the laughter as her face turned a different shade of white and she stared at me in shear panic.

I was going to enjoy this.


End file.
